Back to the Beat
by dazzley
Summary: Takao Kinomiya was always a little different from everyone else. He knows he was born to rock out, but will he make it? It isn't as easy as he hoped it would be. But aren't the best things in life the things you have to fight for? Eventual TakaoKai sob.
1. Cue the drumroll

Sometimes things don't always turn out the way you plan them to.

Takao Kinomiya was the type of guy who did things on the fly. When it came to just about everything, but "just about" isn't _everything_, you know? Nah, he was always consistent in one thing. Two if you count eating, but we're not going to count that.

When it came to music, Takao was always willing to do what he had to do. His friends would ask him if he studied for the exam that day, and he would just have a blank look on his face. "There was an exam today?" or something like that. But ask him about the latest rock bands and newest type of guitar, and he doesn't even need to think about it. One, two, three, hey I didn't even know they had gotten back together Takao! You're really up-to-date.

Loud, undistinguishable music was often heard from the Kinomiya household. Without any regard for neighbors or anything, windows thrown open and,

"_**AAAAAAAAAAAH FUC'D MAH FID'LICK RO'KKK MAAAANNNNNN" **_

It wasn't something very nice to hear when you were out taking your baby for a stroll. Or just in general. Really, it wasn't music. More like screaming and gibberish and the destruction of several wooden objects. Takao was the only one in the neighborhood that could actually understand the song at all. No one else had a clue.

Or maybe he just pretended to know what the lyrics were. No one bothered to question him. Not because they weren't curious (grandpa was most of all, he wasn't sure if his grandson was listening to "bad" music or not), but because he had the habit of going off on a tangent when it came to his strange music taste. And really, after a while it got boring.

So in school, Takao didn't have many friends. He had _some_ but none that he really enjoyed talking to. The boy's favorite topic was music, and… well. Everyone else just wanted to talk about this girl who wore this bikini at that boy's party. Takao wasn't all that interested in girls (which worried grandpa deeply) anyway. Mostly he listened to music at lunch with those little ear-bud headphones while Andrew talked about one of his most recent crushes. Takao nodded his head with the beat while he listened to his music so his good friend Andrew remained none-the-wiser.

But that all changed when Takao met the Chief.

He was this tiny nerd in school that he had never noticed before. Well, can you blame him? He was so caught up in music that his head were in the clouds and the Chief was tiny and mousy. And not (noticeably) musically inclined. Meeting the chief was such a random thing too; Takao might not have met him at all if he hadn't been drawn to the school roof one afternoon.

A bunch of boys were jamming on guitars, having something of a competition. Whoever could produce the best beats was deemed the winner. When you can play the guitar, if you play well, you play _well._ It wasn't something questioned.

"Hey, guys! Why didn't anyone tell me there was a guitar competition? I would have brought mine!" He has a cheery tone, which contrasts with the seriousness of the situation. The boys send him sharp looks and glance at one another, almost uneasily. "But I guess I can borrow someone's. I'm so good, I don't _need_ to be used to the guitar _I_ use!" he boasts while placing his hands on his hips. A dramatic pose. Takao has a thing for those.

"… Takao. These guys are _good._"

The voice is light (almost like a falsetto) and one he doesn't really recognize. He raises a brow and smirks a little bit; this kid simply reeks of confidence. "Well, that's good then! Because _I'm_ good too. Better, probably!" He gets some more glares thrown at him, but they bounce off of him easily (too cool for _your_ school, don'tchaknow).

One guy throws him a bone. "Oh yeah? How long you been playing?" This is Carlos. Takao thinks that he might be Mexican, but he's not really sure. "Long _enough_," is Takao's retort as he eyes Carlos up. He's the one who has been winning all the battles, it seems. All the other boys are submissive to him and don't look at him, let alone look at him in the _eye_.

But Takao does. Either he's very, very brave or very, very stupid.

Probably the last one.

Carlos smirks and picks up his guitar, and Takao wants to laugh. It's a trashy thing; it looks like he picked it up from a garbage can. It had _years_, though. And Carlos had probably been practicing with it since he began playing (it had some scribbles on it too, like _carlos loves the singing sharks!!!_, and _kai is aweshume_. Whoever those people were).

"Wait, Carlos!"

It's that falsetto again. Takao turns and looks at the little nerd with an eyebrow arch. He's nervously typing away on his little laptop computer (were they even allowed to bring those to school?), but he finally closes it after a minute and stands up. And he walks right up to Carlos.

"You wouldn't want to play any more today, Carlos. You've already been playing for the past two hours! It would be bad if you damaged your hands, wouldn't it? Give it a rest!"

The kid had spunk. Takao likes him already.

Carlos takes what the little nerd said into consideration, and then nods his head. "You're right. 'Sides, me ruining my beautiful playing hands ain't worth it." He tucks his guitar back into its case glances back at Takao from over his shoulder. The other kids have scattered by this point, but they've all left their instruments behind. Takao wonders why, and for a second, he thinks they might be coming back.

But then Carlos pulls out a white bag and throws everything in. "… You play for _instruments_?" Takao asks, feeling a little bit angry and stunned at the same time. Why would they do something like that? "That's how _we_ roll," was Carlos's only response before he pushes past the Chief and Takao. And in an instant, he's gone.

"… Who is…we?" Takao mutters, but then he turns his attention to the Chief. "… Hey, thanks."

The Chief shrugs his shoulders. "You didn't know the rules of Carlos's game. He'd have bothered you for days for your best instrument if you had lost, and you wouldn't have been able to play your _best_ on someone else's piece." Takao nods his head and eyes the Chief with a bit of respect. "You're right. That wouldn't have been cool, let me tell you! … Before I forget to ask, how do you know me? You said my name before, right?" The Chief nods his head and looks up at Takao, but Takao can't see his eyes from beneath those thick bangs (…he did have eyes, right?).

"I know you. You're always in the music room, right? We're in there at the same time!"

"…" Takao blinks. "… I've never noticed you before! Weird, haha! I guess I just get so caught up in the music…" The Chief only shakes his head and holds his hands up, "Oh, don't feel bad! Not many people notice me…" Takao grins and grabs the Chief's hand and shakes it with extreme vigor. Oh, poor chief. His arm might break. But he seems to enjoy it. He doesn't have many friends, either.

"What should I call you?" Takao asks, finally letting go of the poor boy's arm (is that a bruise growing?). The Chief shakes his arm and he has this peculiar little smile on. "… Chief! The Chief. I don't like my real name so much," he says cheerfully, "and I think you're a really good guitarist, Takao!"

Takao rubs the back of his neck and flushes with pleasure. He likes compliments, he likes them a _lot_. "Do you play, Chief?" he asks with interest (finally! He's beginning to find people who like music!) and the Chief nods his head. "Come with me, I'll show you – er, play you some of my music!" the shorter boy says and turns. Takao follows him down the steps (watch out, wet floor!) and to the music room.

The music room isn't too far from the stairs to the roof, so they don't have to start an awkward conversation or anything. Nothing is worse than awkward small-talk. Except for maybe having to help grandpa with his sponge baths. Okay, no. That second one was a lot worse. But small-talk is definitely up there.

They walk into the room silently and Takao approaches the school guitar (it's really crappy but he loves it anyway), and the Chief walks over to a huge set of equipment that Takao has never even touched. There are knobs and discs, speakers and screens and… basically, this thing is very intimidating. And large.

The Chief pulls himself up onto a stool and pulls at some of the knobs. Takao heads on over, a little timid because if he breaks this thing he'll have to pay for it, and stands behind the Chief. "What does it do?" he asks as he cocks his head to the side. The Chief points to the discs and knobs, and begins to rattle off a list of technical terms that go flying right over Takao's head.

"And this…" he continues, and Takao has to stop him. "Chief, I gotta be honest with you. I didn't understand a single _thing_ of that." To prove his point, he makes hand motions to show that the words have flown right over his head. The Chief laughs and shakes his head. "I guess it would be better to just _show_ you, huh?"

He quickly begins to turn some of the knobs and the records with such expertise that Takao could only guess at how long he had been practicing at this machine. And before he can count to ten, he begins to hear it. A soft sound at first, but quickly followed up with a faster beat and. Well, to put it bluntly, it was nothing like Takao had ever heard before. And it was all made with a _computer._

The Chief grins when he sees Takao's expression (cue the jaw drop and round eyes) and begins to play faster, and the techno music bounces off the walls and just _swirls_ around them. Takao stays silent through the whole song, the boy is so mesmerized (picture a kid in a candy shop with twenty bucks). On the screens bright colors are swirling in tune to the Chief's tunes, and the room even _seemed_ brighter. Who knew music could have such an effect?

"Wait, Chief, wait!" Takao cuts in quickly and the Chief abruptly stops his playing. "What is it, Takao?" he asks with wide eyes (not that Takao can _see_ his eyes), "is something wrong?" Takao shakes his head no and begins to flail his arms, his face flushing with excitement and pure _joy_. The Chief blushes against his will, no one has _ever_ had such a reaction to his techno music. Most people just ignore him and pay even less attention to his music.

But Takao was different. He was the type of person that truly could appreciate someone else's work and be happy for them. The Chief felt something warm bubble up into his chest, and wondered what it was (did he eat something bad? Maybe it was that chili). Takao practically flies across the room to get at the school guitar. "Oi, Chief! Let's play _together_, okay?"

The Chief's is silent for a moment, but just for a moment. "R-Really..?" he asks as he tilts his head to the side and studies Takao, "You want to play with me?"

"Of course! Man, that was _amazing_, oh my God!" Takao is beginning to go on one of his infamous tangents, but the Chief doesn't mind. He smiles and grabs his knobs again, "Then lets do this, Takao! One..two…!"

Takao grips the guitar and swings the strap over his shoulders, "Hey, hey! Give me a minute, Chief!" he laughs, "this thing is old. I don't wanna snap a string by just beginning to pound on it without warning." The Chief blushes in embarrassment and rubs the back of his head, "Heheh. I guess I just got so excited that…"

"Don't worry about it, Chief. We'll be playing together a lot for now on, yeah? So let's take it slow, and rock!"

The Chief is stunned for a second (this guy! He just knows how to find what the Chief really wants, doesn't he?) but quickly recovers. Takao… he was an interesting guy. His life was going to change. For the better.

Takao grins to himself as he tunes the guitar. Finally! Things are beginning to look up.

"You ready, chief?" Takao asks as he pulls out his favorite guitar piece. It's got a picture of a dragon on it, his favorite animal. He strums the guitar and plugs the chord into the amp. "All set!" the chief replies with a twinge of nervousness, but only a twinge.

They sounded terrible together.

But to them, it was the best thing in the world.


	2. Start the tracks

The Chief and Takao spend a lot of time together now, ever since their little jam session. They eat lunch together and walk to class, talking about music while Andrew talks about some girl named Hiromi. Takao still doesn't care about girls (Grandpa had even tried to give him "the talk" in hopes if piquing interest) and can't stop thinking about music.

The Chief isn't exactly the same way, though. He checks out girls all the time and blushes. He never actually _says_ anything about them to Takao (he'd be far too embarrassed to talk to Takao about it anyway) but the truth is that he really wants a girlfriend. He had tried to create a cyber girlfriend one time… but we'll get to that later.

Takao taps his hands on the table as Andrew talks about the math test they had all taken last period. The Chief isn't in their math class, so he doesn't know what the test was like, but from Takao's expression… he totally bombed it.

"Well, who's gunna use math in real life anyway?" the guitarist says as he flips his hand, "for me, it's all about music. And food! But you can't play food." Andrew laughs while the Chief sighs and plops his laptop on the table. "But Takao! You have to have a back-up. Not everyone makes it in the music industry, you know."

Ah, the Chief. Always so logical.

"I'm going to." Takao says this with such an air of assurance that the Chief doesn't _want_ to damper his dreams. So he opens his laptop on up and begins to type away. Takao takes this time to plug his headphones into the Chief's laptop. They've been doing this for a while. The Chief opens up his playlist and plays it for Takao, and goes back to his statistics.

Andrew watches them carefully, and can't help but to feel a little jealous. Takao has only known this kid for a week and they already know each other so well. The Chief even has a playlist of Takao's favorite songs all set up on his laptop, ready to use whenever Takao happens to plug his headphones in.

But at the same time, he's happy. Takao hasn't ever had many friends who can he really talk to. And the Chief is that kind of guy (even if he _is_ tiny and nerdy), the kind Takao can talk to about what he really enjoys.

"Eaaaarth to Andrew!" Takao says and waves his hand in front of his friend's face. "Are you even listening to me? Hey! That's pretty rude, you know." The Chief laughs, "So is listening to _music_ while Andrew talks!" and Takao pokes the boy's forehead with his index finger. "Did I ask youuu? Eeeh, did I?"

"I was saying," Takao starts up again, "I heard that there's going to be a little music competition down in the park!" Andrew blinks and the Chief nods his head. "I've heard that too, actually. Anyone interested in free food should come; they said it's just for fun!" "Why?" Andrew asks as he sips his milk carton and Takao shrugs. "Does it matter?"

The Chief types away. "I think it was to welcome a new kid to the neighborhood…"

Takao isn't listening (they've gotten used to this kind of thing) but this time it's because he's downing his hamburger with a ferocity that would scare small children. The bell rings and Chief tucks his laptop into his extremely large bookbag (yep, he's that kind of kid. The one who always has a bigger bookbag than body) while Andrew flings their garbage into the trash can.

Takao grabs his binder (like he bothers with taking notes) and heads off to his next class. The Chief is off to gym (where he's going to get abused) and he's not sure where Andrew goes. Home, probably. He doesn't have a last period.

Takao has Spanish last period. He's failing that class, too. Or he would be, if the teacher didn't think he was adorable.

He slips into his seat quickly and stares out the window, just like he always does. But this time, he sees something he doesn't normally see. Carlos. Stealing more instruments. That guy… he wasn't that good, was he? And why didn't any of the teachers _see_ this? Were they just turning a blind eye?

Carlos was still lugging around his garbage-like piece of equipment on his back, along with the white bag filled with his spoils.

Takao grits his teeth in his seat and slips down a bit, so that he can rest his chin on his arms. He's glaring into space, but the poor kid in front of him thinks he's done something wrong and is hiding his face in his hands. Other kids eye Takao warily but he doesn't notice them at all. He ends up staying in that position until the bell, and would have stayed that way longer if the teacher hadn't thrown chalk at him.

On his way out of the room he bumps into a kid he doesn't recognize (this is common, though. He doesn't pay much attention to his peers) and gives a quick apology. The blond just grins and says, "No problem!" and goes on his way. Takao rushes to his locker and shoves his binder in. He should take it home and do his homework, but he never does that. Ever.

He's meeting up with the Chief, after all. They've gotta get ready for that competition in the park tomorrow! Plus, it's Friday. Who the hell does homework over the weekend? He slams the metal door shut and pushes his way through the crowd to the music room. The Chief is already there when he gets in and looks up when Takao staggers into the room.

"What took you so long?" he asks as Takao plops himself down onto a stool. "We don't _all_ pretend to be sick and get out of gym early, Chief!" is Takao's tart reply. The Chief blushes and looks down at his laptop, avoiding the topic of gym (it brings back bad memories for the little guy). "Well…anyway. We should get some practice in before we go home for good. We wanna be in top shape for tomorrow, right?"

"Right!"

Takao strums the guitar and plucks a few tunes, and the Chief eyes him for a second. Takao can't see the Chief's look, but he gets that prickly feeling on his skin and looks up. "What is it, Chief?"

"Takao… have you ever considered singing?"

He chokes.

"Takao! Don't do that, you almost gave me a heart attack!" The Chief's voice can get really shrill when he's nervous, it really can. "Well, Chief, you caught me off guard! I can't sing," Takao says after downing some water from the Chief's superman water-bottle, "I don't have a good singing voice." The Chief puts his hands on his hips and lifts his chin a little bit; he's feeling a little stubborn today. "Let me hear! Here, I've got the perfect song for you to sing."

The Chief digs back into his bookbag (after tossing in the water-bottle) and pulls out a bright blue folder. He flips through the pages and mutters to himself while Takao tunes his guitar, silently dreading the thought of vocals. "Here!"

"Eh?" A few sheets of paper are shoved into Takao's face and he blinks. He quickly grabs them and studies them. "Hey… I know this song!" he says after a few seconds, "It's an old one, isn't it? … But why do you have backstreet boys in your music folder..?" The Chief blushes and slams his folder shut, "None of your business!"

Takao shakes his head, "Don't you have anything less…" "Less _what_?" the Chief says indignantly, and Takao rubs the back of his neck. "Something less gay?"

The Chief shrugs his shoulders and opens the folder again, this time looking through the papers more carefully. "Hm… what about this one? It might be more…" He holds out a single piece of paper and Takao takes it gingerly.

"I forgot the name of the song and the artist," the Chief admits, "so it's just the lyrics. Unless you can remember the name?"

"Oh! Oh, oh!" Takao looks excited again, "I know this! I really like this song, haven't heard it in a while. Can you give me some back up, huh?" The Chief nods his head and scurries over to his giant system, and presses a few buttons. "Just focus on singing, okay, Takao? I'm just curious."

Takao sends him a glare and the Chief grins nervously. And then he presses play.

The music swirls out of the speakers and Takao takes a breath, waiting for that right note to begin to sing. The guitar notes are strong and sharp, easy to keep in tune with. He just hopes that the Chief can stand bad singing.

There.

"_I hold on so nervously…to me and my drink, I wish it was cooling me. But so far has not been good…"_

The chief raises his head and watches Takao sing, stunned. Sure, he wasn't like a professional, but Takao was _good_ vocally. A little rough around the edges but clear and catchy. His voice was the perfect tone for this song… he wasn't raspy or _anything._

"Louder, Takao!" the Chief shouts, turning up the music a little so Takao has to sing louder in retaliation.

Takao shrugs his shoulders; everyone's gone home by _now_. No one else'll hear him, right?

"_Well I'm not paralyzed, but I seem to be struck by you~! I want to make you move because you're standing still. If your body matches what your eyes can do, you'll probably move right through me on my way to you."_

The Chief looks excited, and he finally presses the off button. Takao takes a breath and releases, his throat feels sore. He's not used to singing. "By the way, Chief," Takao says after a few seconds, "the song is called Paralyzed. By Finger Eleven."

"Takao! That was amazing, you're _nuts_!" The chief grins as he grabs his cell phone. "I know exactly who we need to help you get it to _perfection_!" Takao holds his hands up as the Chief frantically dials. "Hey, hey! We're not letting anyone else hear my voice, okay?" But the Chief isn't listening.

"Oooh, I hope she's still here…" he's muttering, "she said she'd be here…" "Who is _she?_" Takao asks with a playful glance. "Your new voice coach," is the prompt reply.

"… My _what?_" Takao frowns, "Hey, now. I just like the guitar…"

"Ah! Hello!" the Chief gasps into the phone, "is this Hiromi? … eheh… heheheh… it's… uh, it's Manabu…."

Takao blinks. Manabu? Who the hell was that? … The Chief actually had a _name_? (Who would have thought!)

"… no! I'm not hitting on you, honest! But I know you were looking for someone to coach and I think I've got your guy! We're in the music room, right now!"

After a few minutes of "Yes! Yes! Yes!" he hangs up the phone. "Don't worry, Takao. She won't tell anyone she's coaching you."

Takao groans and falls back onto the stool dramatically, swinging his arm over his forehead. "Chiefffff! How could you do this to me?" but the Chief just crosses his arms. "Takao! A good musician has to be able to play _and_ to sing. And she'll help you. We're lucky she had to finish an assignment for art class."

The door opens, and there she stands. A tall girl with short brown hair, and even shorter shorts. "Alright, where is he?" Her voice is piercing, and Takao nearly falls out of his seat. The Chief blushes slightly and points his finger at Takao. She turns her fierce gaze on him.

"Well, he's got the looks, but does he have the _voice_?" Boy, is she condescending. He glowers at her as she strides over to the Chief. "Manabu!" she barks, and he jumps. "Y…yeah?" "Play a song, I don't care which one. I want to make sure I won't be wasting my time. I mean _serious_ business."

"Nice to meet _you_ too," Takao mutters, silently dubbing her the wicked witch of the eleventh grade. She waves her hand and then rests it on her hip. "No, not _that_ one Manabu! He needs a song with good range. We have to see where he's good and where he's NOT good. And if he's not good at all, I'm leaving."

Takao seriously considers making himself sound like a dying hobo.

But no. That'd break the Chief's heart. Plus, it was all for the music, right? He could deal with one crazy girl if it would help him achieve his dream, right? The Chief shrugs his shoulders and flips through his music files, until she finally finds one she likes. "Ready? Now!"

He flips the 'on' switch.

Takao crosses his arms and glares at them. They didn't even bother to give him lyrics or tell him the song! But then again, maybe the Chief knew he would know. And if that was what he had assumed, he wouldn't have been wrong. Takao knew what song it was from the first few chords.

"_And this is how it feels when I ignore the words you spoke to me…and this is where I lose myself when I keep running away from you!_"

Hiromi studies him for a moment and then nods her head as he continues with the song. The chief is watching them both, going back from Takao to Hiromi, Hiromi to Takao.

"_Breathe your life into me. I can feel you; I'm falling, falling faster. Breathe your life into me_."

Hiromi seems less vicious now, like she's going to be investing her time into something worthwhile. "He's pretty good," she admits, "but he needs work. It's potential. Not everyone can sing Red. Breathe Into Me isn't an easy song to sing, most people can't hit those higher notes. Not without cracking, anyway. But he didn't." She smiles now, for the first time since she slammed into the room. "He must sing in the shower."

"We'll need to work on his stamina. It looks like he's already getting tired. It doesn't mean a thing if he can sing but can't keep it up for more than fifteen minutes."

The Chief smiles too now. He knew it would be a good idea to call her up. He had met her in his gym class a few days ago, and swapped some information with her. She was the reason he knew about the music contest in the park in the first place.

Takao finishes the song, takes a deep breath, and coughs. "T-There…" he says as he stomps up to them, "I finished your song!" Hiromi smiles at him and drops her eyelids, "That's _just_ the first of many, Takao Kinomiya!" and he stares at her like she's just eaten a baby. The expression makes both Hiromi and the Chief burst out into a fit of laugher.

After a few seconds, Takao joins them in that laughter. "Okay, okay. Maybe this won't be so bad! After all, if I want to be amazing, I'll have to work on my flaws," Takao gasps, "as few as they may be!"

Hiromi smacks him on the back for his pride, but doesn't stop laughing. She's actually happy, she really is. She never really fit in with anyone else before. And now she has these guys. What a motley crew, huh? But they're happy.

The next morning, Takao woke up with a sore throat.

"Grandpaaaaaa," he calls feebly, "I can't go to school today. I feel _siiiiiick_." He turns over in his bed and snuggles his face into the pillows, "I think I might have a rare _disease_!" No response. Takao tries again. "Graaaaandpaaaaaaaa!!!"

Finally, the old man sticks his head into the room. "Sup, little dude? Aren't you gunna be late?" "I can't go to school today," Takao moans as he turns over onto his back, "I feel _sick._" "Well, that's not a problem, bro!" Grandpa says cheerfully. "You stay in bed! Today is Saturday, after all!"

The old man barely has time to move as Takao flies past him to get to the bathroom.

"Ah man! I totally forgot! The music competition in the park is today, and Hiromi will _kill_ me if I miss it. She's even going, can you believe her?" This grabs grandpa's attention. "Hiromi… as in…a chick?? Little man, do you have a…"

"Grandpa!" Takao cuts in, his eyes wide. "Have you seen my sneakers? I can't find them!" Grandpa shakes his head slowly and frowns at Takao. "Heeey. You're not going like _that_ are ya? You look like a streetswaddler!"

"I don't know what that is, Grandpa."

"It's not good! You can't let a little _lady_ see you like this! No, no! Put something cooler on. I know you have nicer clothes! Didn't you go through that _I wanna be a sex machine_ phase? You have the wardrobe; now don't waste it, yo!"

"Grandpa! It wasn't a sex machinephase," Takao grumbles as he flings his closet door open, "It was a _I wanna be suave_ phase." He digs through the piles of clothes and pulls out a pair of skinny black jeans. Grandpa shrugs his shoulders. "Isn't it the same thing?"

Takao ignores him and digs further into the pile. Finally, he pulls out a brown tee-shirt with TRIVIUM printed on the front and throws it on. He adds a belt, not for style, but because he's lost some weight. That happens when you forget to eat because you're practicing so much. And for Takao, such a thing had never happened before meeting the Chief.

"I'll be back later, Grandpa. I'll call you!" Takao shouts as he bursts out the door, and Grandpa shakes his head as he watches the boy run off in the wrong direction. "Heh. What a crazy cat," grandpa chuckles as he grabs his broom.

Takao is ten minutes late, and Hiromi and the Chief are already waiting at the park bench. He gasps and doubles over, "I… hate…running…" It was the whole reason he chose to take Health instead of Gym. The Chief had been too slow for signing up for that class, but Takao had ran for it. The only thing he would ever really willingly run for.

"Geez," Hiromi sighs as she walks up to Takao, "you should have woken up earlier!" The Chief stands up (he was sitting on the bench) and smiles, "At least you made it, right? Let's go! We want to get there early to set up."

Takao nods and adjusts his guitar case strap across his chest. Hiromi shrugs her shoulders and marches down the street and the Chief follows after her. After a few seconds Takao follows her too.

As they walk they talk about Takao's future voice training. Apparently Hiromi's dream is to become a famous voice coach, and Takao was going to be her very first project. She had taken lessons and her mother had been a voice coach as well.

"So, Takao! Do you think you'll be up to my intense training?" she asks with a dangerous little smile. Takao has a dangerous look on his face as well and the Chief feels very, very awkward. "Oh, you bet, Hiromi. Throw whatever you want at me, I won't lose to you!"

The Chief briefly wonders when this became a competition in itself, but that don't seem to matter to Takao and Hiromi. They bicker between themselves and the Chief just smiles, he likes this. Friends who he can just be himself around. They climb the hill to where the competition was taking place and come face to face with a bunch of tables and a small stage.

"Alriiight!" Takao pumps his fists when he notices all the kids with guitars and other instruments. "Hey, thanks for coming!" says a voice. It sounds like he's heard it before, so he turns. Before him stands a blond kid with bright blue eyes, and a few freckles sprinkled across his cheeks. "Hey!" Takao points at him, "You're the kid from yesterday! In Spanish!"

The blond looks a little taken back but quickly recovers. "Oh, oh! You're … yeah! We bumped into each other, right?" Takao nods and rubs the back of his neck, "I've never noticed you before that! Weird, right?" The kid laughs and shakes his head. "Oh, no. Not at all! That was my first day of school. They even introduced me in front of the class, but I guess you weren't paying attention?"

Takao smiles sheepishly and nods his head, confirming the other boy's suspicions. "Yeah, sorry. I kind of space out in that class." "And every other class," Hiromi adds. He shoots her a look and Max laughs a little bit. "It's okay! I'm Max! It's nice to meet you…"

"Takao! Takao Kinomiya," he replies promptly, giving Max a friendly punch on the shoulder. "You're into music too? Or just free food?" "The first one!" Max says, pointing to a set of drums. "I had my dad set those up here; I'm a huge fan of the drums. I guess you like the guitar..?" He motions to Takao's bag and the guitarist nods his head, "Yeah! I've been playing ever since my older brother got me into it when was… what, four? Five?"

The Chief listens with slight awe. He had no idea that Takao had been playing the guitar for that long. He had assumed for a good few years… but since he was four or five? If you rounded it up to the older age and subtracted it from his current age – 16 – he had been playing guitar for 11 years. That was something _impressive_.

Hiromi was also suspiciously quiet as Takao and Max spoke. "Really? Wow, that's awesome!" Max says with pure enthusiasm, "I haven't been playing the drums for that long. I've been on them for about seven years now." Takao grins even wider, "Really? Are you kidding? That's great! Hey, are you going to play in the competition?"

"… eh? Competition?" Max tilts his head and blinks, "This isn't a competition."

The Chief, Takao, and Hiromi look at him with wide eyes. "Eeeeeeh!?" they say together, totally caught off guard. This reaction elicits some more laughter from the blond, "You guys thought this was a competition? It's just an open thing! Publicity for my dad's music shop!"

"Your dad's music shop? You mean that one down the road?" the Chief asks lightly, still stunned from the turn of events. "Yeah, that's the one!" Max says as he points to a tall man with dark brown hair handing out some fliers to musicians. "He likes to do this every so often. I helped him advertise this time around, so more people heard about it than usual. But I guess something got messed up, huh?"

"You can say that again," Takao shrugs, "But it doesn't matter! Playing for fun is just as awesome. As long as there's music involved, I'm down!"

"That's the spirit" Max cheers, "so, wanna check out my drums?" Takao nods his head vigourously and flies after Max. Hiromi laughs and rolls her eyes, "Hey, Manabu! Let's go get some food." The Chief nods his head and fixes his bookbag strap (for some reason he brought his bookbag somewhere on a Saturday). "Okay! I didn't have lunch yet anyway, so I'm hungry."

As they head over to drool over food, Takao drools over Max's drums. "Hey, hey! Don't get saliva on the seat, okay?" Max laughs lightly as he strokes his precious drums. "You wanna try them?" he asks, and Takao's eyes go wide. "Oh yeah, I do! Totally!"

He plops down on the stool and Max hands him the drumsticks. He balances them in his hand for a second and nods his head approvingly. "These look like they're made well." "You know instruments?" Max questions, looking slightly surprised. "I do! I usually end up studying the history of music when I should be studying the history of Japan," Takao jokes as he taps the drums with the sticks. "Do you know how to play a song?" Max questions as he shifts his weight to rest on one leg.

Takao shakes his head no. "Nah, I never got into drums that much. I always went back to the guitar." He tapped the smaller drum and played a small rhythm, nothing fancy. "Can I hear you play something, Max?" he asks suddenly, "it doesn't matter what!"

"Hahah, okay! But move over!" Max slides into the stool and reclaims the sticks from Takao. "Hmm… what should I play…?" Max taps his chin with one of the sticks. "Oh, I know!"

He begins to play slowly, beating the drums with a steady hand. "Slow and steady, that's my motto," he says as he looks up at Takao, "drummers who just rush into the song'll never play professionally."

Takao can appreciate this. "I know what you mean! In some bands the drummer just plays to quickly and the other can't keep up with him. That always bothered me. I guess it's no wonder why _they_ never made it big." Max laughs as he finally begins to speed up his tune, bringing in different beats and fronting a definite pattern.

Takao can't help himself. He rips open his bag and pulls out his guitar, his head whipping around in search of an amp to plug it into. Max laughs, "There's one over there, if your chord is long enough." Takao grins and plugs it in, "I got the extra long, just in case I needed it. Better long than short, right? Don't wanna end up rocking out and then going a step too far!"

The Chief watches them from a distance, and pokes Hiromi in the side. She looks up from her burger and looks in the direction that the Chief is pointing in. When she sees the two of them playing together, she smiles. "SING, TAKAO!" She shouts out, and Takao looks in her direction. He raises a brow, and then shrugs his shoulders.

"Hey, Max. Wanna play a song I can sing to?" he asks as he looks back at his new friend, "I've been working on my vocals." Max gives a thumbs-up, "Sure, Takao! That song do you want to sing? I've got a pretty good range on what I can play."

The boys whispered to each other and the Chief and Hiromi watched from the distance. "What. Are they planning," Hiromi hissed to the Chief, and he shrugged his shoulders. "With Takao? It could be anything."

Both Hiromi and the Chief burst out loud with laughter when they heard Takao and Max's song choice.

"_It's tearing up my heart when I'm with you, but when we are apart I feel it too. And no matter what I do, I feel the pain… with or without you!_"

A few of the other musicians look up and grin when they see Takao and Max playing an NSYNC song. Before they know it, they have a group around them. Takao sways with the music as he plays his guitar, and Max pounds his drums. Both of them are singing, and Max isn't half bad. Takao's voice, however, is more distinct and direct.

Max's dad watches on with Hiromi and the Chief. "They sound pretty good together, don't they?" The Chief and Hilary just nod their heads and watch the two boys jam up one of the gayest songs ever.

A little while later, they all gathered around and drank some lemonade, courtesy of Max's dad. "You guys sounded great together!" Hiromi grinned as she pressed the plastic cup against her mouth, and the Chief nodded in agreement. "You did! Sometimes you guys were a little off, but that's because you never played together before, but I'd say it was _very_ impressive for a first time!"

Takao leaned back against a table. "I guess this means me and Max'll be playing together more, right?" he glances at Max, "unless you don't want to." Max blinks and then smiles, a bright smile. "Are you kidding? That was the most fun I've had in weeks! Of course I want to play with you again, Takao!" "Cheers, then!" the Chief pipes up, holding up his cup. They all smash their cups together and end up getting covered in lemonade, but it was hot out, so it was okay. Only Hiromi complained about getting one of her favorite tee-shirts sticky.

For the next two weeks, they all hung out together. Max joined their little group, and they all ate lunch together and practiced in the music room. Takao's singing improved dramatically, much to the Chief's surprise. Hiromi said it was because she was such a good teacher, but it was also because Takao was a good student. Max had made a joke about that being amazing, and they had all laughed.

Max worked on his beats with Takao, too, when Hiromi wasn't forcing him to sing. She made him sing bars, meter, soprano, alto, and some other things he forgot the names of. She even made him sing his order in a restaurant once. The Chief was endlessly interesting in improving the instruments they used, by making them better shaped to hold or whatever else he could think up.

But one day, that all changed.

"I can't believe that we got so much homework," Takao mutters as he walks down the path. His guitar case is slung over his chest and he's wearing something his grandpa forced him into. Blue jeans and a button up shirt, with a belt. Max wears his usual sweatpants and tee and the Chief wears some weird kind of knickerbockers thing.

Max is drumming the air, his head filled with pretend tunes. But he responds to Takao anyway, he's good at multi-tasking. "Yeah, I know. I can't either; you'd think they'd give us a break. Right?" The chief just shrugs his shoulders, "It could be worse. We could have to write essays!" "Oh, god, knock on some wood, Chief!" Takao moans and he forces the Chief to go over to a tree and rap his knuckles against it.

Max looks to the right, "Hey, guys, you hear that?" Takao looks at Max and then in the direction that he's looking. "Huh? … Hey, I think I do. Is that guitar?" Max nods and heads in the direction of the music, and Takao follows. The Chief scurries after them after scrubbing his knuckles with a baby-wipe (he has tons of things in his vast book-bag).

They're surprised when they see Carlos playing his clunky guitar. A couple of guys are handing over their instruments, and among them is Andrew. He looks completely beaten, and his only instrument, a violin, is also tossed in Carlos's pile.

"Andrew!" Takao calls out, running to catch up to his friend. Max runs after Takao and the Chief jogs, neither of them want Takao to face Carlos alone. "Hey, _Carlos_," Takao shouts when he reaches them, "I think you've done _enough_ instrument-napping."

Carlos grins, "Oh _really_? I don't think so. They _lost._ So I get to keep their instruments. It's a fair game!" "Hardly!" Takao retorts as anger bubbles in his chest, "I know for a fact that Andrew just started the violin about a year ago, and your guitar has _years_ on it. How is that fair?"

"…Takao… its okay," Andrew sighs, "I was the one who should have been more careful." This only succeeded in making Takao angrier. "Andrew! Wasn't that a gift from your grandma? She wouldn't have wanted it to end up like this. He'll probably turn it into firewood!"

Carlos laughs and Andrew just bows his head. "He… he's really _good_ Takao." "…" Takao clenches his fist in anger. Max pats his friend on the back and the Chief looks at the pile of instruments. "… Carlos," Takao finally says after a minute, "Play against me. If you win, you get this."

Takao pulls out his prized guitar, the one he spent years saving for, and shows it to Carlos. It's sleek and classic, and has not a scratch on it. Carlos eyes it for a second and then smiles, a dangerous smile. "Heh… alright, fine. Name your price, not that you'll win."

"Everyone's instruments. You give them all back."

The boys who lost today look hopeful, Max and the Chief look nervous, and Carlos looks just plain smug. "Okay. That's fine." He shrugs his broad shoulders, "Like I said, you won't win."

They begin to play. The way that it works on the street is a little differently than normal competitions. Usually there's an audience to vote on who stays and who goes, but obviously there's no one around to do that. So they play until one completely drowns out the other.

In the end, it was the singing that pushed Takao to the top. Carlos didn't sing. All he could do was blast his tunes, but Takao's song had words to go with it.

Carlos falls down onto his knees, his hands bleeding. There're cuts and scratches, even blisters, just from playing against Takao. Takao is also tired, but thanks to Hiromi's training, he's become used to endurance. His fingers and throat are sore, but he did it. He won.

Carlos glares up at him and spits on his shoes. Max mutters something and glares, but doesn't do anything. The chief is busy collecting all the instruments that Carlos has stolen from players. Takao walks up to the pile and grabs the violin, and with a "Here, Andrew!" he tosses it. Andrew catches and cradles it against himself. "… Thanks, Takao…"

"No problem, man. You've got my back, and I've got yours."

"Looks like you lost, _Carlos._" This is a new voice, one Takao has _never _heard before. But from Carlos's panicked expression, he knows who it is. And he knows that he's in trouble. "… Ah, that's. I was tired! I played against _these_ losers and then I had to play against him – it wasn't fair!"

Boy, was Carlos scared. Takao looks up the hill to see a silhouette against the sun. It's a guy, obviously, from the body shape. He's got some serious muscles, unlike Takao's fairly scrawny self, and on his back there's a guitar. Oh yeah, Takao can tell it's a _good_ one, unlike the one Carlos had been lugging around.

And this guy, he had serious eyes. Takao briefly imagined lasers shooting out of those eyes. His daydream might have gone on longer if he hadn't started speaking again. He was coming this way, too.

"That's not an excuse, Carlos."

"Kai, c'mon, cut me some slack!" Carlos begs…Kai, was it? Kai. But Kai isn't having it. Takao grins a little bit and leans back on his heels, this was pretty interesting. But whoever this Kai guy was, it looked like he was bad news. Max doesn't seem to know who he is at all, and tries to catch Takao's attention. Takao just shrugs his shoulders and looks at the Chief, who has gone pale. Totally pale.

"… Chief…?" Takao questions, but the shorter boy just shakes his head and presses his finger to his lips. It's the sign for stay quiet, Takao knows, but he doesn't know _why._

Now that this Kai character has gotten closer, Takao can see he's a pretty good looking guy. Even prettier than Hiromi and some other girls. "…" Takao shakes his head and blinks. "Well, that was weird," he mutters and Max raises an eyebrow in question. Takao didn't tend to think of guys as "pretty".

Carlos stands up and brushes off his clothes, but not before sending Takao the nastiest look ever. Takao just sticks out his tongue in retaliation and the Chief sends him a warning look.

"Kai, just give me another chance. I'll smash him into the dust, honest!" Carlos begs again, and before he knows it, Kai's hand zings its way across his cheek. He stumbles back and blinks, silent for once. His cheek is a bright shade of pink, where Kai's hand made contact with his skin.

"Enough. You _lost_, Carlos. And we don't accept failure in the Singing Sharks, you know." Kai says as he kicks Carlos's guitar into the river. It makes a small gurgle as it goes under and drifts away into the current. Carlos watches his precious instrument sink in silence, but once it's gone under he makes a small keening noise.

Takao makes a small noise when he hears the band-name _Singing Sharks_ and Kai's intense gaze makes its way over. "What's so funny?" he asks, and Carlos takes this time to step back and away from Kai. "…. Nothing, nothing." Takao holds up his hands and steps towards Kai, much to everyone's amazement. "Anyway, you don't have to be so hard on him. He just lost once… even if he's a jerk; he's not that bad of a player. I mean…"

Kai turns and looks back at Carlos.

"He… Hey!" Takao says indignantly, "I wasn't done talking to you!"

"I was done _listening_." Kai says shortly, "And Carlos. Don't show your face around the warehouse if you know what's good for you. I want you gone." Before they can say anything else, Kai walks off, leaving them all in the dust. Carlos looks like he's about to cry and Takao is annoyed that he was just jilted. "What the _hell?_ Who was that guy, anyway!?"

The Chief looks down at his shoes. "That was _Kai._ He's the lead singer of the Singing Sharks, the toughest and best garage band in the area. He's dangerous, Takao."

Takao blinks and then covers his mouth with his hand.

"Couldn't he have picked a more intimidating band name, then?"

"Come on. Let's go back to my house," Max finally puts in something, "My dad was making some noodles." The chief nods his head and walks off with Max behind him, but Takao stares in the direction that Kai has headed off into.

The best garage band in the area, huh?

He wanted to see this guy in action.


	3. Turn up the volume

"Takao, sing that again!" Hiromi demands as her eyebrows knit together, "Have you even been practicing? You aren't hitting those high notes the right way!" Takao throws a glare at her, "Isn't all singing_ different_? I shouldn't sound exactly like the guy who wrote it!" (Brilliant deduction, Takao.)

"No, but you should sound _good_!"

They do this every day, but today it's a little more heated than usual. Max drums away on his set as they do; he's not all that worried about it (he'd be more worried if they _didn't_). The Chief smiles a little bit and types on his laptop. He's working on some songs Takao wrote, but much to his dismay there are tons of spelling errors and grammar mistakes (Takao wasn't the best speller in the world, obviously).

But the songs themselves are good. They have a lot of heart in them, and they're even pretty catchy. Max and Takao had agreed that they'd write a song together. Takao would work on the lyrics and Max would work on the actual rifts and music. It was a good start for them to get used to working with each other.

But how Takao managed to misspell "knees" was a mystery…

"Gosh, Takao! Why can't you get into this song?" Hiromi huffs as she flips the off switch, "It's _not_ that hard!" Takao glares at her again, "Hey! It's easier said than done! I have to play the guitar while singing into the microphone! It's all very complicated stuff!"

"…" Hiromi deadpans for a seconds and then marches over to Takao. "Then you just won't play the guitar! You know how those boy-bands do it, right? They have headphones on and the music plays, and they dance and sing!"

Takao shakes his head and turns around so she can't grab his guitar, "I don't dance! And I'd rather play my _own_ music, Hiromi." She punches his shoulder and he yelps, she's one feisty girl. "Hand it over!" she demands with a tone that tells him he's gunna get it if he doesn't do what she wants. "Get your own!" he snarls back, and she begins hitting him some more (ah, domestic violence).

"Hey, now!" Max calls out, it's gotten to the point of violence so it's time to cut in, "There's no need to fight like that." "Then tell Takao to just do what I say!" Hiromi crosses her arms and raises a brow, "He might actually listen to _you._"

"Yeah, sure, talk like I'm not _here_," Takao mumbles, but he's no longer snarling. Max rubs the back of his neck and looks over at the Chief for some help, but the nerd is keeping his head in front of his computer screen. Finally, he sighs and gets up, heading over to Takao. "Would you feel better if I did it with you? I need to work on my singing anyway, you know!"

Takao looks thoughtful for a moment, and nods his head, "Yeah actually. That wouldn't make it as stupid." Max laughs a little bit and heads over to the microphone table as Takao sets his guitar up on its stand. He takes very good care of his guitar.

Hiromi is back at the music counter and is flipping a few switches, "Okay guys. Let's go with one you both probably know pretty well that's mostly lyrics. Since it's two of you, you'll have to deal with this one."

Takao looks suspicious as he hooks the microphone in his ear. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever Hiromi. You just go on and pick whatever song you want." He looks at Max, "Are we actually going to dance too? We don't have to go that far for her." Max looks excited though. "Dancing can be fun, Takao! And if you want to impress a crowd, you've gotta have some moves, right?"

The guitarist looks skeptical but decides to let the blond have his way. This time. They both stand in the clear section of the room and Hiromi calls out to them. "Okay, guys! Have some Nsync, okay? I think you guys should know the dance to the song! I Want You Back."

Takao looks miffed. "Hey! When I said any song, I meant something not Nsync or Backstreet Boys!" She rolls her eyes and flicks the switch. "You've gotta be able to sing well or it'll be bad. It's a good song to work with."

Max pumps his fist into the air as Takao slams his hand against his forehead. The Chief is bobbing his head in tune to the music and Hiromi is humming the song under her breath. The music begins before she even says anything, but they're more or less prepared.

It's a song they have to launch right into, because the words start right away. Max starts them off, singing the words a bit softer than what Hiromi would have liked.

"_You're all I ever wanted, yeah! You're all I ever needed…yeah… So tell me what do now, cause I want you back!" _

Max steps forward and shifts his feet in tune with the music, and Hiromi actually giggles. It's not a bad giggle, you can tell from her non-demonic expression (this is rare), she actually thinks he's cute. Or something like that. He tilts his head to the side and motions at Takao to dance too, but Takao is frozen. He'll sing his lines, but he's not going to dance.

Takao beings, "_It's hard to say I'm sorry, yeah. It's hard to make the things I did undone! A lesson I've learned too well for sure._"

Max is motioning for him to dance again, and Hiromi glares at him. It's obvious she wants him to dance too. But he isn't giving in to them. Must. Not. Give. In.

Max picks up the song again, "_So don't hang up the phone now; I'm trying to figure out just what to do. I'm going crazy without you…_"

Now they sing together, and Takao has given in (of course). He was the one who roped Max into doing this in the first place, right? He slides his feet across the floor in time with Max and sways his arms. Max grins as he sings, and after a second Takao does too.

"_You're all I ever wanted, yeah! You're all I ever needed, yeaaah! So tell me what to do now, when I want you back!_"

The chief slips up to Hiromi and whispers to her, "They sound really good! Max needs a little more singing work, but Takao does sound better than before. Why is that?"

Hiromi, who had a silly little grin on her face from watching Max and Takao dance, looks down at him and frowns. "Well…" she glances back up, "It's because of his song choices. He keeps picking these heavy rock songs that have decent vocals, but don't do anything for his particular voice. Songs like this – cheesy as they are – he's better suited for. He can't really keep up with banging drums and an electric guitar. Some people can, it's a medium between singing and screaming, but. Not here."

It's Takao singing again. "_Baby, I remember! The way you used to look at me and say, promises never last forever. I told you not to worry; I said that everything would be alright. I didn't know then that you were right._"

They're singing together again now, "_You're all I ever wanted, yeah. You're all I ever needed, yeah. So tell me what to do now, when I want you back!_"

Their movements were a little awkward in the beginning, but they're getting more comfortable with it. They seem to be having fun with it, even. Hiromi grins and secretly wishes that she had a camera to record this on. But she knows she'll be seeing more if it. The Chief is simply captivated with their vast improvement over the last few weeks.

They finish up the song with a few more erratic dance moves and some giggles. Even though they messed up the end of the song by laughing, Hiromi doesn't mind. They've gotten better, more-so Takao, and she is proud of him.

Even if she had to beat him half the time to get him to listen to her.

She claps her hands once she turns off the music and they look up at her, surprised. "The wicked witch of the eleventh grade is _pleased_?" Takao gasps, lifting his hands to his mouth in mock surprise. She sticks her tongue out at him, "I know! I'm surprised too!"

The Chief gives the two singers a thumbs up and a wide toothy grin, "You guys looked awesome! A little weird in some parts in there… but it wasn't like you practiced!" Hiromi nods in agreement, "And was it so hard to sing when you didn't have to focus on playing your instrument, too? You can do both together later, but we just need to work on your singing. You've had the guitar for years! Taking a break isn't going to make you rusty."

Takao rubs the back of his neck sheepishly and bats his eyes at Hiromi, "Yeah yeah. You were right. For once." She blinks rapidly and the look and then scowls when she realizes that he's just mocking her. The other two boys laugh and the Chief gives Hiromi a pat on the back.

Unbeknownst to them, someone has been watching them.

It's time to go home. Takao wraps up his chords and Max pushes the drums back into the music closet. Hiromi grabs her book-bag and shouts, "BYE!" before making her way out of the room. Her parents didn't like it when she was late for dinner. Takao waves goodbye and Max shouts his departure a few seconds after Hiromi does.

So now it's just Takao and the Chief left in the room.

The Chief is slipping his laptop into his bag with care, and Takao is slipping his guitar intoits carrying case with even more care. "I know I say this all the time…" the Chief begins, but Takao cuts him off. "Hey, Chief. Is it raining outside?"

The brown haired boy blinks and scratches the back of his neck, "Huh? I think it might be. The forecast says it's supposed to be raining all week, but I don't know if it's started yet…"

"Okay," Takao nods, "Because Grandpa gave me his umbrella. It has some chick in a red dress all over it, so I don't want to use it if I don't have to." The Chief laughs a little and pats Takao on the back before he heads out of the room.

Takao grabs his guitar case and darts out as well, forgetting to lock the door behind him. It's not a big deal though, right? Not like there's anything good in there to steal.

It's not raining when Takao gets outside, much to his relief. He looks both ways before he crosses the street and darts on home. It may not be raining but the sky is dark and the clouds are rolling in. He pushes his key into the lock and slips inside as quickly and quietly as he can. He was supposed to be home thirty minutes ago.

He drops his guitar case on his bed and falls back on it, once he gets into his room. He stares at his ceiling for a little while and listens to the sounds of the oncoming storm. In his pocket, his cell-phone vibrates. He blinks and reaches into his pocket to get it.

The front window says, "The Chief". He wonders vaguely what he might possibly want as he flips open his phone. "Takao!" The Chief yells into the phone, and now he's going off on a panicked tangent. "Hey, hey Chief! Calm down and speak slowly, okay?" Takao says as he sits up, "I don't understand what you're saying."

"I _said_ that Hiromi didn't make it home. Her parents called my phone to ask where she was. But she left on time; she should be there by now. And she's not picking up _her_ phone!"

"What!?" Takao asks as he stands up, "What do you mean? Her phone is _always_ on!" "Yeah, I know..." the Chief says sadly, "but there's no answer. No ringing. Totally disconnected." Takao grips his phone and curses in his mind. Someone should have walked with her. She was a beast, sure, but she was still a girl. And girls shouldn't walk home alone.

"Crap. Chief, did you call Max? No? Well, call him. I'll go out to look for her. Keep your phone on, okay?" he says quickly as he slings his guitar case over his shoulder, "No, I'll be fine. Really! I know kendo, you know! I could just a stick if I needed to. You go with Max. Yeah… Yeah, I have a sweater."

Takao runs down the stairs and looks for his grandpa. The old man is taking a nap on the couch with his newspaper plastered over his face. He won't notice that Takao is missing. So the guitarist shoves his feet into his new boots and heads out the door.

He walks back to the school; it's a good idea to start there, right? Maybe she's still inside. He pushes open the door and walks in slowly (he's a little nervous now, it's dark and spooky in there). "Hiromi…" he says softly, "Are you here? Hiromi."

No answer. He reaches the music room and opens the door. She wouldn't be here, he knows, but he forgot to lock the door. He should do that. He slips the guitar case to the floor and leaves it by the music room door so he won't forget to lock it when he's done. And he'd never forget his guitar. Perfect.

He heads down the hall and the hairs on the back of his neck rise. Something isn't right here. He turns and looks another hallway, but there's nothing there. Strange.

"Hiromi!" he calls out again, "Get out here, you gorilla! Your parents are looking for you! Did you leave your phone off by accident? Really. I know you turn it off when we're practicing but you really should remember to turn it back on…"

Still nothing. He sighs and jogs down another hall to look into the science classrooms. There're no teachers, of course, but where was the janitor? He should be here. Takao peeks into a few more rooms, and there's nothing at all.

"Well… well, she's probably in a store. Yeah. A store! Once I find her I'm gunna chew her out for sure," Takao growls, but he knows he won't. He'll probably just be glad to find her. He turns and heads back to the music room.

But the guitar case isn't there.

He blinks, turns around the corner, and then comes back. It's still not there. He skids over to the door, it's still open. The lights are still on. There's no one inside. But the case is gone. And along with it… his beloved instrument.

He wants to cry. "Stupid, stupid, stupid…" he mutters as he slams his fist against the wall. The ache in his fist lets him know he's hit it real hard, but he doesn't care. Everything he cares about it just disappearing all at once. Who would take it? The _janitor_ wouldn't do something like that.

He flicks off the light in the music room and slams the door shut, but not before making sure the lock on the other side was set. If there was someone in there, they'd get freaked and come out, wouldn't they? It was dark and Takao didn't like being alone in there, but he was.

Nothing moved. No one is there.

He pulls the lock and opens the door again, and walks out. They couldn't have gotten far, right? But when he gets outside, he sees something he doesn't want to see.

His guitar is all broken up along the sidewalk. He swallows his spit and bends over it, examining the pieces carefully. Yep, it's his, alright. And it's totally smashed. He bites his lip as tears fill his eyes, and uses the sleeve of his sweater to wipe away those blurred tears.

But whoever did it should be near, right? He sucks it up and hiccups a little bit as he looks around the area, but there isn't an obvious presence. He picks up a few of the pieces and tucks them into his pocket. He doesn't have time to mourn; he has to find Hiromi before something similar happens to _her._

And while his guitar is important, his friends are more important.

A crack of thunder shakes him and he looks up at the sky. A raindrop falls on his cheek and rolls down slowly; it's a warm fat one. He wipes it away with the back of his hand and takes off down the street, running all the way.

His phone vibrates again, he skids to a halt to answer it. It's Max this time. "Takao!" he says with worry etched into his voice, "I think we know where she is. Some kids came up to us and told us they saw some guys hauling her away. We're at your house – come back, okay? We'll go get her together."

Takao doesn't say anything; he just hangs up and tucks the phone back into his pocket. He really hopes that grandpa hasn't woken up.

He's back at his house about ten minutes later, because he ran. He has been doing a lot of running this past hour. Max and the Chief are sitting on his porch under an umbrella because the rain has gotten heavier. Takao is soaked to the bone, but he doesn't really care.

"They said that the Singing Sharks grabbed her," The Chief begins, "Carlos was one they recognized. I guess they ended up taking him back, huh?"

"Someone was at the school, too," Takao says, "they smashed my guitar on the sidewalk when I was looking for her." Max and the Chief look stunned as Takao pulls out a few of the pieces, "this is all that's left, pretty much. We'll go in a minute; I just want to put these pieces in the shrine."

Max nods and the Chief looks even more worried, also it looks like he wants to say something, but Takao just brushes past him. He makes his way into the dojo and slips off his shoes, his grandpa would kill him if he knew he went into the dojo with his shoes, and takes a deep breath.

The shrine is a tall wooden thing. It has several candles and flowers surrounding it, compliments of his grandpa. Takao sets the pieces down in front of it almost gingerly and plops to his knees. "Hey, spirit of Dragoon," he starts up, "you can hear me, right?"

There's no answer. Takao didn't expect one, only crazy people actually hear voices, but he continues anyway. "I've gotta go get my friend back from some jerks. Grandpa says to ask you for protection and whatever, so. I guess I'm asking for it now. So. Help me, okay?"

He closes his eyes for a moment, and hears a cracking sound. They shoot open again. Cracking? He looks around, wondering if it's the storm, but no. It's coming from inside the room. Upon closer inspection, he can see that the wood paneling of the shrine is cracking slowly.

Why would it do that? He stands and takes a step back as it begins to crack wider, and eventually fall apart. Standing before him is the most beautiful guitar he has ever seen. A Rickenbacker, from what he can tell, and it's a stunning midnight blue. "What…"

He can't believe it. How did this get here? When did it get here? _Why_ was this here?

But then again, did it matter? It was there, waiting for him.

He reaches out and brushes his fingers against it, then grabs it. He doesn't have time to waste! When he steps out of the dojo with an amazing new guitar, Max and the Chief are a little more than stunned. And much to Takao's dismay, Grandpa is awake too.

"Oh, so you have it," Grandpa says thoughtfully as he looks at the guitar, "It's the guitar of Dragoon, little dude. It's been in the family for years, but … well, never mind. I guess it wants you to use it, yo!"

It seems that Max and the Chief have explained the situation to gramps. "Be careful, little dude. I know you and Dragoon can get back your little girlfriend. Yeah!" Grandpa pumps his fist and Takao sweatdrops a little bit. "Let me just get a case for this," Takao says as he runs up the stairs, "I don't want it to get wet in the rain."

The guitar seems to shimmer as he places it on his bed and he allows himself to have a second to admire it. Then he throws himself at his closet to dig out a case. He picks a cloth one with a zipper with no defined shape because he doesn't have a personalized one for Dragoon yet. But he will.

He slips the guitar in and swings the strap over his chest. It's just the right weight, whereas his old one had been a little too heavy to carry around all the time. But he doesn't have time to think about it. "Okay!" he jumps down the steps two at a time, "Let's go get back Hiromi from those stupid jerks!"

Max grins and the Chief nods his head.

They run off into the rain together, and grandpa sees them off with a sad little smile.

With Hiromi, things aren't so good.

She had been perfectly fine until she was about half way home. It was around that time she began to get that feeling like someone was watching her. You know the one, right? The hairs on your arm stand on end and you just feel the need to turn around and check.

They had gotten her from behind.

So now she's here in this dirty little warehouse with a bunch of dirty garage-banders. Is that what they're even called? She doesn't care. She just wants to get out of here.

They've tied her up with what looks like dental floss, and tossed her on top of some crates. They didn't bother to shove a rag in her mouth, but right about now they're wishing they did.

"What's the point in kidnapping me anyway? Geez, you guys. And this place is dirty! I think – is that a rat? Ewwww. And can you untie me? Like I'm going to get away with the three of you here. And where's that no good guy Kai anyway? Hey, are you listening to me? Why'd you take me here anyway? Heeeey!"

She squirms and tries to get her arms free, but to no avail. They glare at her from across the room where they're playing cards. Finally, Carlos stands up and walks over to her. "Okay, fine. You're gunna teach us to sing, and you're gunna teach us _good_, y'hear? No more helpin' that other guy."

Hiromi spits at him and he growls, shoving her back some. She whimpers a little bit but that's all they'll get out of her. "Then why didn't you just _ask_?" she snarls, "instead of grabbing me while I was on my way home!?"

They all look at each other with slightly blank expressions. She sighs and sits up, "I wouldn't have minded giving you guys some tips, you know. I'm not that mean." "Oh, just shut up," Carlos says with a frown, "just shut the hell up! Your voice is annoying, Jesus Christ."

Hiromi shuts her mouth and sits back as she eyes them. They're all rough around the edges and _big_. Well, except for the midget with the hat. She might be able to get away, but her chances are slim. She could bite and scratch and maybe even punch them, but chances were that Kai did that to them on a daily basis and they'd be used to it. Er, the punching that was.

Another one pipes up, "Yeah! You're gunna teach us to sing, cause Kai said if we didn't get better he'd hurt us some more." Her suspicions were correct!

"Then why doesn't _he_ teach you?" she mutters, but none of them hear her. They just go back to playing cards. "Go fish," one of them mutters while Carlos curses and grabs a card from the pile. Hiromi rolls her eyes. What were these guys, four?

Takao, Max, and the Chief are outside the warehouse now. Takao is trying to find a door or some kind of window on the left side while Max and the Chief look around on the right side. "Any luck?" Takao calls out, and he hears Max call for him.

He walks around the building and Max points at a heating vent. Takao raises a brow and approaches it, only to find that he can see through the holes and into the room. There are crates and a group of guys playing what seems to be a serious game, and Hiromi is sitting on top of a stack of crates.

"There," Takao whispers, and Kenny looks in too. Max glances around for something to use to pry the vent off the wall. "I'm sure we can find another way in," the Chief whispers to Max, "If they managed to get in by door, we can too." Max nods and heads further down the wall, while Takao watches the people inside. He doesn't see that pretty guy – what was his name again? Kai? Yeah, him. All he sees are his goons.

Max motions to them from where he's standing and they go to him. He's found a handle on the wall, which if they pull, might let them inside. Takao glances at Max. Max glances at Takao. They both nod and grab the handle at the same time. And then they pull.

Hiromi looks up from where she's sitting when she hears the door sliding against the pavement. Carlos and his friends look up too; their eyes are wide and surprised.

"So this is where you've been, huh, Hiromi?" Takao says with a grin as he looks at her, "We've been looking everywhere! I guess I should've known that Carlos would sink to stealing a girl." Carlos growls and sticks up his middle finger, and Takao just sticks his tongue out at him.

The Singing Sharks stand up and walk over to Takao. Max and the Chief step forward too, even though neither of them are particularly intimidating. Neither is Takao, but the way he carries himself would make other people nervous.

"I may have lost last time but I won't lose again," Carlos begins, but a voice cuts in.

"Back off, Carlos."

Takao looks around, but can't seem to find where the voice is coming from. Hiromi sees him first. "Up there!" she shouts, and juts her chin up, "he was on top of that huge pile of crates!"

It's true. There Kai stands, on top of about eight stacked up crates. He must have been sleeping, Hiromi thinks to herself, because she would have noticed him if he was standing before.

He jumps down (more like floats) and walks over to Takao, "You beat Carlos before. That right?"

Takao frowns at him, "Geez, can't even bother to remember a face? It wasn't like it happened years ago."

Kai shrugs, "I only bother to remember important people. And last time I checked, you don't fit into that category." "Well," Takao retaliates, "Maybe you should check again! Give us back Hiromi!"

Kai lifts his chin in a condescending manner and crosses his arms, "I could care less about her. But you don't mess with the Singing Sharks and come out clean."

Hiromi sniffs indignantly and tosses her hair, but no one is really paying all that much attention to her at this point anyway. The Chief sends her a reassuring smile, and she smiles back, finally able to relax. Her friends came for her, after all. She believes in them.

One of the shorter boys tosses Kai his guitar, and he catches it with one hand. It's a beautiful piece of work. Red flames with orange bursts, smooth neck, and even smoother curves. "No way you'll beat Kai and _Dranzer_!" Carlos shouts out and one of the other boys sends him a glare, "Shut up, Carlos. You're lucky we even let you in here."

The Chief has whipped out his laptop and is typing away again, having the machine analyze Kai's Dranzer. "Takao!" the Chief gasps, "That's an amazing guitar!"

But Takao isn't listening. "Why are you doing this, anyway? Why steal people's instruments!?"

Kai slips the strap over his shoulders and narrows his eyes, "I'm looking for the best instruments out there. I want them."

Takao pulls out his Dragoon, and Kai's eyes widen slightly when he sees it. The boys behind him gasp out loud and begin whispering to each other.

"I don't care about your search for good instruments. I just want Hiromi back," Takao says, "But I'll gladly play against you, if that's what you want!"

They begin to play, and they're both (for a lack of a better word) amazing. Dranzer plays a fierce tune while Dragoon plays an airier tune, but both sound sharp and strong. They're playing harder now, both boys gripping their guitars tightly and rocking slightly.

While they play, the Chief scurries over to Hiromi and tries to remove her binds. "I'll get you out of here in no time," he whispers as he digs in his book-bag for something sharp, "While everyone is distracted by Takao and Kai!"

He pulls out a pocket knife (why the Chief has such a thing? Self protection of course! Not that he'd ever have the guts to use it) and hacks away at the rope. She whimpers slightly and prays that he doesn't get to close to her with that thing.

Takao is getting tired, and his hands are pounding and aching. His left hand still hurt from punching that wall in school, and running around in the rain getting himself soaked to the bone wasn't helping his comfortable factor.

But just like that, Kai stops. He's looking at Takao with this odd expression and Takao looks back at him with a dumbfounded one. Without saying anything, he just flips his Dranzer over his shoulder and walks away. The Singing Sharks look at one another and then at Takao, then Kai. They follow after him, all but Carlos, who still hasn't been accepted back by Kai. He goes off on his own.

"What's with that guy and just walking away?" Takao asks angrily, "I wasn't done!"

"…Takao," Max cuts in before Takao can punch another wall, "Look at your hands."

Takao looks down and his mouth opens wide in surprise. "W…What? I didn't think I was playing _that_ hard!"

The hand that had been gripping the guitar has red blotches all over it and the knuckles are white as computer paper. This one isn't _so_ bad, but it throbs with pain. But the hand that had been playing the strings, well. The tips of his fingers are bleeding slightly from the wearing on the strings and his knuckles are bright red. His wrist aches from hold one position for so long, it's white, and you can clearly see the veins.

Max reaches out and takes one of Takao's hands, "Gee, Takao! I guess you were so into your music that you didn't even notice that you were destroying your hands. You've gotta be careful. If you had played any longer, you probably would have ruined them. Or at least damaged them for a while."

"Yeah… I guess. But thanks to Dragoon, Hiromi is safe. Right?" Takao winces a little bit as he slips Dragoon back into the case and swings it over his shoulder.

Hiromi and the Chief join them. "Takao! Oh gosh, look at your_ hands_!" The Chief gasps as he pulls open his book-bag _again_, "I know I have some Band-Aids in here somewhere! Just hold on, Takao!"

Takao just smiles and looks down at his hands.

Kai was said to be the best, right? Maybe he didn't beat him… but he didn't lose to him either. And that was good enough for now.

Takao didn't go to school the next day.

Max and the Chief are working on some songs. Hiromi hasn't come in either. They assume that it's because of what happened yesterday. With the not coming home, or calling, or anything. They had agreed that they would keep Hiromi's parents in the dark about what happened in the warehouse and tell them something else.

Max guesses that whatever Hiromi told them, they aren't too happy about. So it was a boring day for Max and the Chief. Sure, they talk, but it's just not the same without Takao being there. Even Hiromi would have made the day more lively.

But once they get out of school, they get a phone call from the guitarist.

Max is the one he calls, since he figured that the Chief would be with him.

"Guys, GUYS!" he shouts into the phone, "GET OVER HERE, NOW!" Max blinks and looks at the chief, "Uh, you heard him, right?" The chief puts his hands on his hips, "How could I _not_? He was screaming into the phone!"

"Why Takao?" Max asks, and he has to hold the phone away from his ear when he hears Takao's response.

"JUST COME OVER, OKAY? I'LL EVEN FEED YOU SOME FOOD OR TEA OR SOMETHING BUT IT'S A _SURPRISE_ AND OH MY GOD THIS IS AMAZING."

The Chief shrugs and nods his head, "Okay, fine. Let's go! I want to see him, anyway. Don't you?" Max also nods and talks back into the phone, "Okay, Takao. We'll be over there as soon as we can!"

He hangs up and looks at the Chief, who smiles, and they head off to Takao's house. Who knows that Takao wants to show them.


	4. Plug in the amps

Takao is sprawled across his bed with his hands wrapped clumsily in white bandages. Grandpa has made him stay home from school because of what had happened to his hands, or as grandpa had said,

"Little dude! Your digits are all whacked up in the hizzou! What'd you do, do a tango with a grizzly on the top of Mount Rushmore? That'd be whack! Go upstairs and clean your grill, yo! No schooling for your rocking little self on the flip side."

Takao didn't understand a single word of it, but he figured that Grandpa wouldn't let him go to school the next day. And low-and-behold, he hasn't.

Takao swings his leg up and flops it back down again, the bed bounces slightly with the movements. He's bored, and he can't even practice Dragoon because of his hands. So all there is to do is to watch television, too bad Takao is too lazy to reach across his bed to go get the remote.

"Grandpaaaaa," Takao calls feebly as he flops around some more, "Graaaaaandpaaaaaa!!!!" When the old man doesn't respond to his whim, he sighs and slams his face into his pillow. "Ughhh, this _sucks._ I'm bored! Bored, bored. Bored."

Grandpa finally pokes his head into the room. "Hey, little man! Were you calling for me?" Takao looks up and narrows his eyes, "I've been wasting away in here for _hours_ without food or water! I'm slowly dying! Grandpa, I just want to let you know, before I fade into nothing, I've always thought you were really weird." He falls back into his pillow and Grandpa rolls his eyes.

"Drama queen."

Takao looks up again and pouts, "Can you at least give me my remote? It's getting boring in here. I can't do anything!" He raises his hands up and waves them, "Nothing at all! Nada! Useless hands!"

Grandpa throws the remote at Takao and the guitarist is hit square in the middle of his head with it. He falls back into his pillows and grandpa chuckles, "Take it easy, little dude. You'll be going to school tomorrow, so just deal."

Takao mumbles something under his breath and grabs the remote, using extreme strength to press the buttons. The television flicks on to a kiddy channel with cartoons and Takao watches them for a little bit, a pout still prominent on his face.

But then, something happens.

Just a single little commercial turns Takao's world upside down.

"Bey-Idol has finally arrived, once again! Think you got what it takes to be the best? Singing, dancing, musical instruments, battle off! Only the best of the best will make it to the top. So come on down to audition, and then rock on out!" the television boasts, and Takao's jaw has dropped, "No…way."

The television continues, "Currently being hosted by the famous talent scout, Mr. Dickinson! Who knows, this just may be your shot at the big leagues."

Takao stares at the television long after the commercial has ended and gone back to cartoons, but he's in a world of his own. Picturing himself rocking out in front of a crowd, beating those in his path, winning the audience's favor… it was all he ever wanted.

He just needs to look into it more. The guitarist glances at the clock and sighs. The chief, Max, and Hiromi (he doesn't know she's out too) don't get out of school for another few hours. What a pain.

He flicks his television off and heads out of the room and into the computer room. He's got to know more about this, dammit, and his best bet was to use google.

He plops down into the seat and clumsily presses the 'on' button. Typing with all these bandages on will be hard, but he isn't about to ask grandpa for help with the computer. Grandpa might have hip lingo but he wasn't really good with technology. Last time he tried to use the computer he ended up throwing it out the window.

They wound up having to buy a new one.

So he makes a few errors as he types, but google is good with correcting things and knowing what you really want. He types in Bey-Idol (more like Beey-Iuidol) and what do you know, there it is!

He prints out all the paperwork for it, three copies. For him, Max, and the Chief. Hiromi was just their coach, and probably wouldn't want to take part.

He glances at the clock again and resists the urge to slam his head on the computer desk. How could that have only taken ten minutes? He wanted them to be out of school _now_!

Grandpa calls from downstairs, "Hey, little dude! You want some cookies? I just made some!"

Takao throws himself down the stairs to get at the baked goods.

"Grandpa, you'll never guess what happened!" Takao says as he sits down at the kitchen table and Grandpa looks up excitedly, "Oh, little man! Did you finally learn about the art of mastu…"

"_BEY-IDOL IS COMING TO OUR AREA!"_ Takao cuts in without giving what his grandfather says a thought, "And I'm going to try out! I don't even have to _win_, I just have to do _well._ And that way I might get the attraction of a talent scout."

"You know, little man, we don't have child blocks for a _reason_," Grandpa sighs, but smiles. Takao is too busy ranting about Dragoon to pay attention to his poor old Grandpa, which isn't something uncommon in the Kinomiya household.

"And that's what we're going to do," Takao finishes with a nod, and shoves a hot cookie in his mouth. "O-Ouch! This is hot, ouch! I need milk!" he flails and sputters as he shoots up from the chair. He runs to the fridge and grabs the carton of milk. Much to Grandpa's dismay, Takao just opens the carton and drinks straight from it.

"Other people drink that milk too, little dude!" Grandpa complains, and Takao rolls his eyes. "Grandpa, you aren't supposed to drink milk. It gives you the runs."

Grandpa sputters now too, but from insult rather than burning hot cookie. Takao laughs and runs out of the room, milk still in hand, and Grandpa chases after him with the Kendo Stick. Just like always.

Running from grandpa makes the time fly by faster. By the time Takao collapses back on his bed, red faced from actually doing exercise, school has let out. Perfect timing! Takao grabs his cell phone and dials up Max, the chief would probably be with him anyway.

Max answers after a few rings, and Takao shouts into the phone for him and the chief to come over.

They get there soon enough, and Takao flings the front door open. "Guys, guys. We have _serious_ planning to do."

Max and the Chief stare at Takao for a good full few seconds, and it's Max who is the one who talks first. Kenny is too busy blushing.

"Ah… Takao," Max says slowly, "Maybe you should put some pants on…" Takao looks down and his eyebrows lift in surprise. He's only wearing a white tee-shirt and a pair of checkered boxers.

"… Huh," he says after a few more seconds, "I could have sworn that I was wearing pants."

The chief shakes his head rapidly and Max just pats Takao on the shoulder. They head inside and Takao pulls out a pair of baggy blue-jeans from the unwashed laundry basket.

"Why wear something clean and new if I'm just going to take if off in a few hours?" is his logic, "Besides, I only wore these pants for a week and a half without washing them!"

Grandpa just shakes his head and throws the rest of the laundry into the washroom, and closes the door. Takao laughs and Max just smiles awkwardly while the Chief sits down in one of the chairs in the kitchen. "So what did you want to show us, Takao?" The Chief asks lightly as the rest of them sit down. And the rest of them consists of everyone but grandpa. Grandpa isn't allowed to hang out with them.

"Okay, so," he drops the papers in front of Max and the Chief, "Bey-Idol. We've gotta do this." Max blinks and studies the papers and the Chief rests his chin on his hand, "I know what that is."

Takao looks at the Chief with curiosity, "You do? Then why didn't you tell us about it?"

The nerd sighs a little bit and frowns, "I know you guys are working hard and all… but. Kai and the Singing Sharks'll be participating, plus other really tough garage bands. Like the Dancing Shells, the Whizzing Swordfish, and the Rocklepops."

Takao stares at the Chief for a moment, and then bursts into laughter. "Oh my _God_ are you serious? The _Dancing Shells_? The _Whizzing Swordfish_!? The _**Rocklepops**_!? And I thought that The Singing Sharks was a horrible name!"

Max also looks like he's on the brink of laugher, and can you blame him? "Do all garage bands have these really horrible names? Is it some kind of trick to fool everyone into thinking they're weak and then WHAM? Cause it seems like that would work," Takao continues, "And don't you worry, Chief! We're going to beat them. And you know why? Because we're _better_ than them."

The Chief doesn't look convinced, but Max nods his head in agreement. "Besides!" Max says, "We'll never really know if we'd be able to beat them if we don't try. Why quit before giving it a shot? It's not like they'll kill us if we lose!"

The Chief laughs nervously at the word "kill" but the other boys ignore him.

"Yeah!" Takao agrees, "And we've been working hard and we _deserve_ a chance like this. So don't cut us out, Chief, okay? Even you could beat one of those stupid Singing Shark members if you tried."

Okay, so maybe that was stretching the truth a little bit. But Takao wasn't going to back down for anything! He was going to do this, even if his friends supported him or not. But it would make things a lot easier if they did.

Max gets up and heads over to the fridge, "Hey Takao! You got anything to eat?" He doesn't bother to wait for a response, though. He just opens the fridge door and reaches in. This was okay, though, because Takao has always told them "Me homesu tsu es comda homseu". The Chief keeps trying to tell him that he's going to fail Spanish if he keeps that up, but it's not like Spanish really _matters_.

Max pulls out the milk and pours himself a glass. Takao debates telling Max that he was drinking out of that carton no less than an hour ago, but decides against it. So Max downs some Takao-spit infested milk as the Chief types away at his laptop (when did he even pull that out?).

"It's not that I don't believe in you guys," he says, "I'm just worried. I don't doubt that they'll be out to get you if you enter, and that wouldn't be fair! And… And I don't want you guys to get hurt. You're my… best friends."

Takao blinks and stares at the Chief, as does Max. They both seem slightly surprised at the word "best friends". They never really brought it up before, but yeah, it makes sense to them.

"…Best friends, huh?" Max smiles as he places his now empty cup neatly into the dishwasher, "I really like the sound of that." Takao nods his head in agreement and flashes a smirk in Max's direction, "Would my _best friend_ Maxie get me something to drink, too?"

Max smirks back and tosses a cup at Takao, who barely manages to catch it. "I got you the cup, you can fill it up," he teases, and Takao sticks his tongue out. The Chief smiles, "I don't want this to change! If something bad happened… I don't know what'd I do."

Takao grins at the Chief, "Like I said! We'll always be like this, don't even worry about it. We've got each other's backs through thick and thin, Hiromi too—speaking of the witch, where is she?"

For the first time since they got there, Takao has noticed that Hiromi isn't there. "You've got great perception, Takao," Max jokes as he sits back down into the wooden seat, "She didn't come to school today either. She _did_ go missing without calling her parents. They probably got mad. Most parents would, you know? Plus, she's a girl. Parents are usually harder on girls than guys in that way. A lot of girls mess around and stuff."

"But Hiromi isn't that kind of girl!" the Chief counters, "She's really sweet and nice. And down to earth, too. She wouldn't go off and do something stupid, her parents know that." He nods his head with an air of assurance and Takao smiles a little bit. He may not notice some things, but he does notice this. The Chief himself probably hasn't even realized it. Or if he has, he'll never say or act on it.

Max shrugs his shoulders, "Yeah, I know. We don't know what she told her parents, though, other than lots of _I'm Sorry_s and _It won't happen again_s."

They all nod at this. "Well, she'll probably be in school tomorrow," The Chief says, "What about you, Takao? How are your hands?" He looks down at Takao's hands as he says this, as does Max. Takao lifts them up so the other boys can get a better look at them.

"They're sore, and healing. But they should be okay soon. I've been putting a lot of cream on them and stuff," he says with a smile, "I'm tough!" Max looks thoughtful for a moment, "Have you ever considered putting mayonnaise on them?"

The other boys look at Max like he's just told them he's really a girl or something. Max scratches the back of his neck with his hand and laughs lightly, "Hey, hey! I know it sounds weird or something, but it works! My dad used to do it for me all the time, back when I used to climb all over everything and get hurt. It's why I'm so fond of it, actually. I ended up licking most of it off and…well…"

He's still getting that weird look. He drops his head and stays silent, and the other boys begin to laugh. "I'll try it out, Max," Takao promises, "But I don't know how my grandpa will react to me slathering mayonnaise all over my hands. He'll think I've gone nuts!"

Max peeks up at them from beneath his bangs and gives them a shy little smile, "Okay, okay. I'm just saying!"

The next day is Friday, and they're all back in school. Turns out that Hiromi ended up getting a cold from being out in the rain and then tossed into a freezing warehouse for a few hours with nothing but her wet little sweater to keep her warm. Her parents had bought her story without a doubt, she was always honest with them otherwise.

She seems interested in Bey-Idol when Takao shows her the papers. "Hmm… I'm sure you guys can do really well," she says, "But what about your hands Takao? Are you just going to rely on your singing for a while? You're good enough to do that and beat out some of those wanna-be popstars, but eventually you'll need Dragoon, too."

Takao rolls his eyes and slams his head onto the lunch table. "I know, Hiromi! I'll be better!" His hands are still currently wrapped up in bandages, "But I've gotta face that Kai guy again! And I really want this. I won't let my hands get in the way." "Like you'll have a _choice_," Hiromi mutters, but otherwise stays silent about it. Max sips milk from his tiny school carton silently, but it's clear that there is something on his mind.

Hiromi looks at Max expectantly and he shrugs. After finishing his milk, he begins. "Well… this has been on my mind since last night, when I was thinking about the contest…"

"What is it, Maxie?" Takao asks as he tucks a few loose hairs behind his ear. He's wearing his hair down today for once, and it's long and soft. Hiromi is actually casting a jealous glance at it every so often. Max continues, "Does this mean we'll all have to play against each other?"

A silence overcomes the table.

Of course, Maxie would be the one to notice the key flaw in Takao's perfect plan. "Oh… yeah," Takao says slowly, "You're right. I didn't think of that."

They all glance at one another until finally Takao puts an end to it, "Well, if it comes down to that, may the best one win! Hopefully they'll place us in different sections so we won't have to play against each other until the end. Right?"

The other boys give a curt nod and Max seems to have a weight lifted from his shoulders. Takao grins and runs his fingers through his soft, loose hair. "Hiromi~! I see you're checking out my amazing _hair._"

She punches him and he falls over. "Hey, what was that for!? You crazy… crazy person!" "Who did your hair today?" she asks, "No way could you make your own hair so nice."

Takao tosses his hair, "My grandpa did."

"… Somehow, I'm not surprised," Max laughs, and the Chief giggles. Hiromi laughs so loudly that some other girls give her a nasty look and toss their heads, but this little group of friends doesn't care who hears or sees them acting like idiots.

They begin filling out the papers.

"Oh! So you can ask for a certain block! Let's all put different blocks, okay?" The Chief says excitedly as he checks off some boxes. Hiromi looks over his shoulder, "It looks like it depends on the type of instrument you play. Well, this is good. You all play different types!"

Max nods his head and scribbles down some more things on his application, "Oh, hey, I didn't even know there was an age limit. Only ages Fourteen to Twenty." "Who cares?" Takao butts in, "We're the perfect age! Oh, hey, what is a Social Security Number?"

"You'll have to leave that one blank. We'll give it to them if they want it later," The Chief says, "its important information! Don't let just anyone get it!" "Woaaaah," Max laughs, "Why do they need to know our Sexual Orientation?"

The Chief shrugs, "Does it matter? I just put that I like girls!"

Max looks thoughtful for a moment, and then checks something off on his paper. Hiromi isn't sure, but it doesn't look like he checked off the "straight" box. But she can't see too well from where she is.

Takao blinks, "… Uh. Sexual Orientation? That's like… who you like, right? Well, I don't really care about girls. Or guys. Uh. It doesn't matter? What would that be?"

Hiromi nearly chokes when she hears this and gives him a nice long stare. "You don't like girls?" she asks blankly, and he shakes his head. "I don't know… Oh, I know!" He scribbles something in huge letters on his application, and Hiromi rolls her eyes.

"Takao, Musicsexual isn't an option."

This gets some laughter from Max and the Chief, but it doesn't distract them from continuing with their applications.

Once they finish with their papers Hiromi collects them and promises to send them out in the mail that very day. She's reliable, so they trust her, and head off to their respective classes. Spanish test for Takao (he studied all night, too! Maybe he'll get a 40) and Max, gym for the Chief and Hiromi (though the Chief was planning on playing sick today).

About a week later, Takao gets a letter in the mail. He's going on break from school now (autumn break, you get a week and a half off just because the trees are shedding!), so this is perfect timing. It's a simple white sheet of paper, no huge packet like he was expecting.

But it's enough.

_Dear _**TAKAO KINOMIYA,**

_Congratulations! You have been accepted into _**BLOCK A**_ of the Bey-Idol competition. Please arrive promptly at the _**BEY STADIUM **_in your local area! Testing will commence there. Please bring your instruments, voice, confidence, and character to the stage! You will be tested not on talent alone. Take of that what you will. _

_We look forward to seeing you! Remember; testing begins a November 23. _

_- Dickinson. _

Short, sweet, and to the point.

It was the 20th of November right now, so they had three days. Three days. Just three. Promptly, huh? He guesses that means that he has to be there bright and early. He calls Max first, and the blond picks up after two rings.

"Hello?" Max asks, his voice slightly slurred, "What…?"

"You're still sleeping? Oh, come on, Max! How late are you going to sleep on a Saturday?" Takao asks with a laugh, "You're so lazy!"

The sound of movement can be heard through the phone, and after a minute, Max speaks again. "Takao. It's seven o'clock in the morning. Or course I'm still sleeping…"

But what Takao tells him wakes him right on up.

"Oh, man? Are you serious?" Max asks as he dashes to his mailbox, "I'm going, I'm going!" No one else is even up in Max's house right now, but that doesn't matter. He yanks open his mailbox and… there!

"I got it!" he cheers as he rips it open, "It says I'm in Block B! B, Takao! Which means we're not going against each other!" Both boys end up cheering for about five minutes straight, but then they remember to call the Chief.

"Oh, let me do it!" Max pouts, "You got to call _me_!" Takao argues with him for a minute and finally gives up, Maxie is being stubborn.

Max calls the Chief, who picks up about five rings later. "Gee, Chief," Max says, "Took you long enough! Did you get your mail?" "Why?" the nerd asks, "Should I—Oh, Oh my! I totally forgot, hold on!"

The Chief runs to his mailbox and jumps a few times to reach it. Finally he pulls the little tab and the little plastic door flies open. He reaches in and pulls out his envelope. "I've got it," he breathes, "I've… actually got it! It says I'm in Block C! This means we're all in different blocks, right? Good!"

So their worries were alleviated.

That is, until the 23rd of November.

Takao is there first, and he's one of the first people on line. He's tucked inside of a large black coat which his grandpa had forced on him that morning. At 3 am. He had resisted at first, but it was cold out, and he was grateful.

He wears his hair down today too, because he wants to impress. Black jeans and black and white converse, a tight red tee-shirt with a guitar design flourishing the front, he's all decked out and ready to rock. Dragoon is snug in his new case, designed just for him. Yes, Dragoon is a he. Normally Takao would name his instruments as girls, but Dragoon just seemed to scream masculinity.

There are a couple of other people too, but they haven't even bothered to try to talk to him. One was a fatty kid, with large glasses and bad acne. He probably wasn't going to get anywhere. And there were a bunch of girls huddled together, wearing tiny skirts and heavy make-up. Takao rolls his eyes when he sees their faces; he never has understood why girls want to wear so much make-up.

He waits there for his friends to show up and the line grows and grows. Some police officers have approached the area and are keeping people in line. The Chief shows up and Takao waves to him, and he somehow manages to make his way through the crowd to stand with Takao. He's out of breath and clearly nervous, but also excited.

Max shows up too, a little later, and has a harder time getting through the crowd than the Chief did. They all stand together and whisper to each other, that's what everyone is doing. No one is bothering to be friendly to anyone they don't already know, because what would be the point in that?

They begin to move into the building and into their respective blocks.

"Good luck," Takao says, "I hope I'll see you guys soon! You better win, okay!"

"Call me if you guys need me," Max says, "and good luck! I'm cheering for you guys!"

"Let's try our best!" the Chief says, "We'll make it! I know we will!"

They pound their fists together and smile before head down their lines. They glance back at each other real quick, and then they're gone.

It's begun!


	5. Dim the lights

Takao walks slowly down the hallway with the other people in his block. He sees a bunch of people he half-recognizes, and even more that he doesn't recognize at all. Where did all these people come from? Half of them don't even look Asian. Well, that'd be because they aren't. There are all types here today, because Bey-Idol attracts everyone who is looking to make it big.

There are girls and guys with blond hair, red hair, blue hair, green hair, and purple hair… the list can go on and on. And the styles are nothing like what Takao has seen before. Some just have crappy hair (like the wanna-be pop-stars and the nerds) but some have really _interesting_ hair. One girl even has what his grandpa would call a "beehive".

A little shocking, but Takao doesn't let it show on his face. _Anything_ to put yourself ahead of the crowd, right? Well, Takao has something most of these people don't. Natural good looks! He preens a little bit as he looks in one of the mirrors in the waiting room that they've been ushered into.

He's not overly big like some of these people (and with overly big comes overly awkward) but not too scrawny either. Some of these kids look like they'd get crushed on line in the super-market (actually, the Chief would fall into this category too, but Takao _likes_ the Chief and chooses to ignore this) while others look like they should be off slumming somewhere in the dump. Or in a pro-wrestling match. Or both.

He sits in the corner of the room because he was one of the first people in and tucks Dragoon's case between his legs. Max will have to use a drum set provided by Bey-Idol because he isn't able to lug something like that around here (he'd break his back, the poor guy). The same with the Chief and his techno music machine. But they have plenty of instruments to lend out – having your own just puts you ahead of the pack.

And that will help you make it to the end, now won't it?

A skinny girl with blond hair sits in the seat next to Takao with what looks like a banjo, but he's not too sure, because it has three more strings than a banjo usually does. She doesn't look up from the floor at all and from her expression it's like she doesn't even want to be there.

Takao shrugs into his jacket and mentally sighs. He wishes his friends were there with him. Oh! It's like someone heard his prayers! In his pocket his phone has begun to vibrate (teehee, it tickles). The guitarist digs into his pocket and pulls out the flip phone. It's only a text message, actually, but it's got some very important information on it.

It's from the Chief.

_Kai is in my block, Takao! Looks like I won't be getting too far. But I'll do my best! (o)b _

Takao smiles at the Chief's little emoticon, but only at that. Shouldn't Kai be in _his_ block, if any block? His instrument was the guitar, wasn't it? Unless he decided to enter with something else as his main instrument, but what else could a guy like _that_ possibly play?

So many questions and no way to get answers to them!

"Augh!" Takao slams his feet against the floor in frustration. The girl next to him jumps at his outburst and cowers in her seat, but the guitarist doesn't notice. He's so in his own little world that he doesn't even notice the rest of the Singing Sharks in the room with him. They're actually staring at him with venom on their faces, with looks that could kill.

But Takao is Takao, and he notices not.

Everyone is given a number. Takao gets number 45. He fingers the slip of paper as he sits in his seat, nerves finally starting to nibble at his innards. How was this going to go down? Was he going to be good enough? Was the girl with the banjo going to get in over him?

Ugh! More questions that don't have answers! Takao wishes that he could make himself stop thinking for just a little while. What to think about, what to think about.

Ah! Perfect!

He leans back and closes his eyes in his seat. He imagines thick pork chops smothered in warm gravy, topped with mushrooms and mozzarella cheese. Fluffy mashed potatoes with steamed peas on the side, warm bread that's covered with room temperature butter…

"Number forty-five! Number forty-five?" a high-pitched voice calls, "Number forty-five!!"

Takao jolts up in his seat and feels some drool slide down the side of his mouth. The girl with the banjo is staring at him with an odd expression on her face. Something between fear, disgust, and admiration. He laughs a little bit and uses his jacket sleeve to wipe away his drool. Who knew someone could doze off for half hour thinking about food?

The girl smiles a little bit, with only slight hesitation, and then speaks up, "Hey… she's been calling your number. I think you better go." The guitarist tears off his jacket and shoves it his case, "Oh, thanks! I guess I dozed off there for a little bit. I woke up at two this morning to be one of the first people on line, which turned out to be pretty pointless anyway, and only got to eat three bowls of cereal!"

The girl looks like she doesn't know how to respond (c'mon, who eats three bowls of cereal for breakfast?) but Takao doesn't have time to talk _now_. He brushes off his shirt and twirls, his hair floating in his self-created breeze. And as quickly as he jolted awake, he grabs Dragoon and rushes to the auditioning room.

The woman behind the table eyes him a little bit and then sighs. "We were calling you, number forty-five. You need to pay attention!" He nods his head rapidly, "I know, I know! Sorry – haha, I fell asleep." The woman gives him a bored look for a second before handing him a few sheets of paper, "Don't worry about it, hon."

"Eheheh, thanks, Lady!" It's his turn to go in and prove himself in front of Dickinson. He walks into the large room where Dickinson is sitting by his lonesome. He's an oldish looking guy, a little jittery, but he seems nice.

"A-ah… Takao Kinomiya, is it?" Dickinson shuffles through some papers, "Yes, yes. Welcome, I'm Mr. Dickinson."

Takao grins widely at the old man, "Yeah, I know! I've heard a lot about you! I've even read some articles you've written, which is pretty rare, I don't read! Er, I mean, I don't read often. I know how to read." He laughs and sets Dragoon onto the floor carefully.

The old man seems pleased at the little bit of light conversation, "Oh, goodness, really? Most people don't even know I've written articles!" "Oh, yeah!" Takao says, "By the way, you look kind of tired. Are you okay? It wouldn't be good if you got sick or something."

Dickinson nods his head slightly, "I've been working endlessly all week in preparation for Bey-Idol. It's hard work, you know, but it's worth it. You kids need a chance to shine, right? Speaking of, why don't you sing for me? All of our applicants need to be passable singers in order to get any further!"

Takao is secretly _very_ glad the Chief made him practice with Hiromi so much. Who would expect this? The commercial didn't say anything about needing to be able to sing. He wonders if the Chief is any good at singing, he's never heard him. But he doesn't have time to ponder it for long because Dickinson is waiting.

"What would you like to hear, Mr. Dickinson?" Takao asks, "I bet you'll be hearing things you won't really like all day, so I might as well sing you something you'll enjoy!" He remembers that the paper said they'd be tested on more than their talent. Good manners might play into that so it can't hurt. Personality counts!

Dickinson looks slightly startled, but he quickly recovers and smiles at the guitarist, "Well, how nice of you. I haven't heard a song by Creed in a long while."

Takao is surprised by Dickinson's band choice, but he's not complaining. He had been expecting Dickinson to say something old-fashioned, like, Elvis. But now that he thinks about it, Dickinson is up with the times (he has to be in order to be a talent scout, after all) and probably likes the current music. Or semi-current.

"How about the song, With Arms Wide Open?" Takao asks as he stretches his arms over his head, "It's a nice song!" Plus, he was really good at those slower songs.

Dickinson scribbles something down on his sheet of paper and leans back in his chair, "Very good. Begin whenever you're comfortable."

Takao takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. This is his chance! This is what he's been waiting for!

He begins to sing.

Dickinson leans up in his seat and studies Takao carefully as he sings the song. Creed takes a certain kind of voice to sing, Dickinson knows that, which is why he mentioned it. You must have good control over your vocals, something crucial in this kind of competition, and the boy has it.

He looks a bit on the young side, but his voice is more mature than his outer appearance.

He holds his hand over his stomach, which tells Dickinson that he's singing from there instead of from his nose. That's a big problem with most singers, they end up closing some pipes in their throats when they sing, which ends up causing their singing voices to sound more…high-pitched. Singing from the stomach is harder to do but always worth it in the end.

In short, the boy is _good_. Dickinson likes him. Plus, he's a nice guy. The industry already has too many phonies and fakes.

Dickinson lets him finish the entire song, something he usually doesn't do, and claps when Takao finishes. The guitarist takes a deep breath when he finishes and grins. "How'd I do, huh? Good, I hope! I've been training for this!"

The older man laughs, "I can tell! Congratulations, you pass with flying colors. When you leave you'll receive a yellow piece of paper, which will be your ticket into the battle round! Good luck, Takao!"

Takao leaves in a daze, like he can't believe Dickinson actually liked his singing. It happened so quickly-! It's like he's walking on a clouds that will evaporate any moment. He's half expecting Dickinson to call out, "I was joooking," but he doesn't. He simply watches Takao leave the room and tucks the boy's application into the pile of good applicants.

When he's given the paper, Takao waits inside another room with those who have passed. He doesn't see the girl with the banjo again, so he assumes she didn't make it. That's too bad, she was cute.

He hugs Dragoon to his chest as he waits in the second waiting room and digs in the pocket of his jeans for his cell phone. He's gotten a text from Max saying he's gotten past the preliminary singing check, and Takao sends him back a quick text of congratulations and good luck. He hasn't gotten anything from the Chief yet, so he assumes that the chief hasn't gone yet.

Waiting is the worst thing in the world, Takao decides, considering that there's no one to talk to. None of the people in his block look particularly approachable. Then again, he probably doesn't look all that approachable either. He sighs and flips open his phone again, sending Hiromi a quick text. When you get right down to it, Takao is a pretty needy guy.

While waiting for Hiromi to text back, he gets a text from the Chief.

_Hey, Takao! Managed to get pass the singing audition, but barely. I think he felt bad for me, heh heh. Kai also passed, of course. I've heard he's a really good singer, too. _

Takao rolls his eyes. With a band named the _Singing Sharks_, you'd _hope_ the lead would be a good singer. If he wasn't the name would be terribly misleading. …_Singing Sharks._ Takao still can't get over that. He snickers a little bit and texts the Chief back with his news, adding in that he doesn't recognize anyone in his room.

He's still ignoring the venom looks he's getting from the back-up players in the Singing Sharks. You'd think he'd recognize _Carlos_ there, but he doesn't. Somehow Carlos has managed to pass the singing audition too. Barely, but he passed. Now he's sitting in the chair right across from Takao and glaring at him like there's no tomorrow, but Takao is far too interested in his cell phone and Dragoon to notice.

Oh, maybe the Chief would know what instrument Kai would be playing. He quickly types a new message to the Chief asking him that, and glances at the time once the message sends. It's only ten o'clock! They still had a lot to do, though, like the battle process. The finals would take place three days from now. It was a quick contest, but it wasn't like they were battling for big prizes. Nope, all you got from this was being noticed.

And that's what Takao wants, someone to notice him.

Turns out that Kai entered on the keyboard. Weird, considering Kai is so good at the guitar. Ah, who is he trying to kid? He wanted Kai to be in his block, he wanted to fight against him. He glances at his hands and flexes them a little bit. They're still a little damaged, but he'll be able to play fine. Just nothing hardcore like street-battle.

Finally, the singing auditions have ended. There are about fifty people left in Block A, which is a small amount, considering that there were about two hundred this morning. A small bubble of satisfaction grows in Takao's stomach as he realizes how many other people he has beat out to be here. It probably wasn't that easy to impress Mr. Dickinson, but somehow he had managed to do it.

A woman walks into the room now. She's got a bright smile and an ever brighter green suit. Some of the kids shield their eyes away from her outfit, but Takao is used to it from Max's odd sense of style. "Congrats! You fifty are going to battle it out in the Bey-Arena! My name is Melissa, and I'll be explaining the rules of the Bey-Arena to you all."

Everyone looks up now, even if their eyes are watering, and pays rapt attention to her. This is their big break and they won't lose for anything!

She continues, "All of you will be in the Block A arena. You all have instruments, so use them. Singing is perfectly applicable too, but you'll probably be more noticed if you have an instrument to accompany you. The point of this? Drown out your opponents! Make us notice _you_! There will be several talent scouts among the audience, yes there is an audience, so you don't know who you need to target."

Takao just shrugs this off; he's going to target _everyone_. She presses on.

"So don't cut corners. You go to your assigned number spot, which is listed on your yellow ticket. Does everyone understand?"

A few people ask her some questions, but Takao isn't listening. He's way too pumped now. And it looks like everyone else in the room is just about as pumped. On an off-thought, he realizes why they held the pre-singing competition. It probably wasn't even about the singing. That girl with the banjo would probably pass out if she had to fight against a bunch of other people for the attention of a crowd.

But Takao had no problem with acting in a way no other person would dare act for attention.

"We'll begin shortly, so please, do prepare yourselves," she finishes brusquely. Everyone seems to have agreed on the rules and she turns to leave.

"Oh, I almost mentioned to forget. Only one of you will be making it to the finals," she says, "If I approach you and tap you on the shoulder, you must leave the arena and gather your things. But you're more than welcome to sit in the stands and watch the whole thing through."

Everyone seems stunned at this little twist. So if they don't do well, they can get kicked out early? And miss the attentions of a talent scout?

The uneasiness of the room seems to swelter as some kids glance at each other nervously. So they were all enemies here, huh? That's the way it had to go down. Takao is suddenly glad he didn't bother to make any friends in here; he'd feel bad about beating them out if he did.

Soon enough they are hurried into the arena to set up. Takao glances at his cell again, but he doesn't have any more new text messages. So he sends a universal one, one to both the Chief and Max.

Good luck, guys!

Now he glances at his yellow ticket. He's in slot fifteen, so he looks on the floor for the giant fifteen in chalk. When he finds it, he places Dragoon's case down and takes a deep breath. The room is filling up with girls and guys alike, everyone interested in those who managed to get past Dickinson's sharp eye.

There is a light that resembles something like a stoplight, but with a red light and a green light. Takao pulls Dragoon out of his case and runs a cloth over the instrument so it shines under the heavy lights of the arena. Most of the other people in the area have guitars as well, which makes sense, because this is the strings group. Bey-Idol even provides mini-amps for this part of the competition.

Takao plugs Dragoon in and swings the strap over his shoulders. All around him people have started playing and are rocking out as best they can. Carlos is banging on his guitar like there's no tomorrow – oh, hey! Carlos! Takao didn't notice him here before. Huh. Weird.

Carlos seems to be attracting a lot of attention, Takao better hurry up! He strums his guitar and plays a quick rift. But he can already tell that Dragoon is a lot sharper and louder than that crappy guitar Carlos has picked up (Kai _did_ punt his old one into the park river, after all).

Takao launches into his song with vigor and enthusiasm, not that the other competitors are not, but he does it in a different way. He sings, he dances, and he even twirls his guitar. It's all about the show, he knows, and getting attention. And true enough, he seems to be doing well.

The lady in the bright green outfit is already out on the floor and tapping the shoulders of the less interesting players. They leave with a sigh and a small smile. Or, well, most of them do. Carlos isn't one to leave so nicely.

He curses the lady out and spits on the floor before he leaves the arena. He doesn't even stay in the stands to watch the end, like everyone else did.

But that's not Takao's problem right now. He continues to sing and play his heart out, without even really paying attention to who is listening or watching. He can feel their eyes, the heat burning into his skin. It's hard to ignore. But he's in his happy place now, his _music_ place. All he really _knows_ is the music and the lack of shoulder tap.

Soon enough, it's down to him and a handful of other people. But unlike him, these people aren't used to endurance. They don't have an angry Hiromi breathing down their necks whenever they stop for a five-minute break.

But right now Takao can only thank that angry she-beast.

And it's done!

Takao is the only one left. The woman in the green outfit is smiling at him and Dickinson is clapping. The audience is also clapping, and a few people in suits are looking at him in an appraising manner. Did he really win?

He lets go of Dragoon and takes a deep breath.

"He's really very good!" Dickinson says to one of his subordinates. He only says this because the blue-haired wonder looks _very_ interested in the young Kinomiya. "Very talented, and a good kid. Seems like we'll be seeing more of him in the future, hmm?"

Shippu no Jin crosses his arms and turns, "… Hm. I guess you're right, Mr. Dickinson. What's his name?"

"Kinomiya! Kinomiya Takao," Dickinson responds to the masked agent.

"…Kinomiya," Jin says with a small smirk, "I see."

"Do you know him, Jin?" Dickinson asks with slight surprise, but Jin shakes his head. "Don't worry about it. Anyway, shouldn't you be going to Block B? I heard they just finished up too."

"Goodness, you're right!" Dickinson says with a slight flush, "So much to do, so little time. Thank you, Jin!" The older man rushes off to the next block as quickly as his worn body will let him, and Jin continues to look upon Takao Kinomiya, wearing that little smirk the whole time.

The lady wearing green walks up to Takao and gives him a pat on the shoulder, "You're the last one, aren't you?" Takao laughs and runs a hand through his hair, "About time, lady! I was getting pretty tired up here!"

He heads into the waiting room, where he'll meet the other winners of the blocks and Dickinson, to talk about the finals. Shortly after he gets there, Max pokes his head into the room.

"Takao!" he says with joy, "So you won too? I won Block B! Amazing! Haha, looks like we're gunna see it to the end, just like we promised!" Takao pats the chair next to him and Max flies into it, "It was _amazing_! I can't believe I was the last one left!"

Takao nods in agreement, "I know, man! It was like, how did this happen? Am I really this good! Just. _Wow._"

They share another laugh and glance at the clock. The Chief hasn't shown up, but no one else has either. "I wonder what's taking so long…"

Next to walk into the room is the winner of Block C. But it isn't the Chief.

It's Kai.

Takao slips down in his seat and sends a scathing glare at Kai, but the older male brushes off Takao's glare like it's nothing. He leans against the wall and pointedly ignores both Takao and Max, which annoys Takao even more. "Looks like the Chief lost, then," Max says slowly as Takao burns holes into the wall across the way.

Dickinson walks into the room with another boy, the winner of the final block, block D.

"Boys, this is Rei Kon. He's the winner of Block D," Dickinson says with a smile, "You're all very talented boys, but only one of you can be the champion of Bey-Idol."

Rei gives the other boys a glance and then dismisses them with an eyeroll. Takao resists the urge to growl as Dickinson continues to talk to them, unaware of the growing tension in the room.

"You already know this, Kai, but these three are newcomers. You battle against one other person per bracket! You can play any song, as long as it falls under the theme. We'll give you the theme beforehand so you can pick a proper song."

Takao sits up and listens as Kai closes his eyes, he's heard this before. Rei shrugs his shoulders and leans against the wall too, but he ignores Kai _and_ Max and Takao. It's clear from his manners that he thinks he's better than them.

"It will take place in three days! You sing your best, we have a period for voting in the audience, we tally, the winner is the one with the most amounts of votes. Simple, right?" Dickinson claps his hands together, "Brilliant! Would you all like to know the bracket and line up?"

They boys are silent, so Dickinson takes this as a yes.

"Right, well," he coughs, "the first battle will be with… Kai and Max, yes. And the theme is _Beginning_! As long as it relates to some kind of beginning in some way, you'll all be fine. And the second battle is Rei and Takao. And, if you haven't guessed, your theme is _Ending_. We'll tell the winners of these battles the final theme when it comes to that."

Takao and Max quickly high-five each other and Rei rolls his eyes at their actions (that guy and his eyerolling!). Kai heads to the door, which tells Dickinson that they're done here. Or that Kai is, anyway. "I'll see you boys in three days, _three_!"

Takao and Max walk together in silence. Both have the final battles weighing heavily on their minds, plus, they haven't heard from the Chief.

Max is the first one to speak up, "Takao! I'm really proud of you. You've come really far, you know?" Takao blinks and then smiles at his friend, "You too! You must have been really good, I'm sad I missed it. Maybe someone recorded it."

"Nah," Max says, "I wasn't _that_ good… haha!"

"Let's go find the Chief, okay?" Takao says with a pump of his fist, "Even if he didn't make it as far as us, I'm sure he still did awesomely!"


	6. Open the doors

The Chief is waiting for them in the waiting room. It's pretty much empty aside from him. There is the janitor wiping the floors but no one is going to count him. The little nerd is hugging the yellow paper he was allowed to keep to his chest and looking at the floor. But he looks up when Takao and Max walk into the room.

"Hey, guys!" he says in his tiny little falsetto, "I've been waiting! I'm so proud of you guys, you got so far-!" His chin quivers a little bit as he speaks, and Takao walks up to him.

"Calm down, Chief," he says softly as he pats the smaller boy's head, "You did well too. _Really_ well. So don't beat yourself up over not winning the _whole_ thing, okay? You got noticed! _Noticed_, Chief! That's what counts, right?"

The Chief shakes his head and moves away from Takao's hand, "Yeah, you're right, Takao. I'm not upset about it, I'm not! I did my best and that's… all I could do, right?"

Max speaks up, "Yeah! There's nothing better than your best, Chief. And if you did your best, that's the best there is!" The Chief stands up and slips the yellow paper into his gigantic book-bag for safekeeping. He is going to hang onto it as a memento of what's happened here today and how far he managed to get.

"Man, I'm _starving_," Takao says to lighten the mood, "I haven't eaten anything in hours and I'm going to faint if I don't get something in me, fast!" Max grins and nods his head in agreement, "I couldn't agree with you more, Takao. Some noodles and mayo sounds _so_ good right now."

"That's still gross, Maxie," Takao says with an eyeroll, "And I won't change my mind about that. I was in the bathroom for _hours_ after I tried some of that."

Max sticks his tongue out at Takao, "That's because you didn't eat mayo with plain noodles, you know! You ate mayo with macaroni and cheese! Probably _not_ the best combination."

Takao shrugs his shoulders, "But it's all going to the same place! So why would it matter how it goes down? It tasted bad, anyway! Gosh." The other boys laugh as Takao pouts and crosses his arms. The Chief feels better with his friends than he did when he was alone.

When he was alone he had bad thoughts, like about how he wasn't worth anything good or how Takao and Max would be better off without him. He didn't like these kinds of thoughts so he tried his best to push them away from his mind, but sometimes he can't help it.

He knows his friends care about him and that they'll do anything for him, so he's gotta make peace with that.

"Then lets go get something to eat!" the Chief says happily, "I'm hungry too. And I've got some money, so I can _even_ treat you guys today. Come on!"

Takao and Max look at each other and then back at the Chief.

"Wow, chief! You're sure being generous today. What's the occasion?" Takao asks as they head out of the arena together. The Chief flips his hand, "You guys are the winners today, right? You deserve a treat! You worked hard, and I bet Hiromi is going to slave-drive you these next two days. I'd look forward to the day before the final contest if I were you; it's the only break _you'll_ be getting!"

Max and Takao stare at each other wide-eyed and the Chief laughs at their expressions.

"So come on, okay?"

The next day is exactly as the Chief predicted it would be. Hiromi is raging at them to work on their vocals, Max more-so because she had been going easier on him before. Takao takes a deep breath and sings the bars again, trying to get the sound to come from his stomach rather than his nose or throat.

It's harder than you would think!

"Again!" Hiromi barks as she eyes the sound-recorder, "Louder! You've really got to appeal to the audience, and being quiet won't appeal to them at all!" "I'm singing as loud as I can you _crazy beast_," Takao gasps, "It's hard, okay? It's _hard_!"

She taps her foot and takes a deep slow breath in an attempt to get her anger under control. Being called a crazy beast doesn't help her attitude. "I know, Takao. But you _have_ to be ready for the contest! You're singing against this Rei guy, right? We don't know anything about him! _Nothing_! So we've gotta make you sound so good that it doesn't _matter_ what he sounds like. And a song with _ending_ as the theme? We've gotta pick something and work on it!"

"I was thinking about using that song by the All American Rejects," Takao says after a second, "It Ends Tonight? I mean, it has the word end in the title and everything! Nothing to mistake there."

"Whaaaat? No, no Takao! Why would you pick a song like that? You need to pick something classic! Something that'll really show off your vocals! You have such a large choice," Hiromi rants angrily "Ending is so broad! It can be the end of a love or a life or… anything! And you, Max! Beginning is even easier!" She points at the blond who was busy eating some noodles. He looks up at her with wide eyes.

Takao sighs and sits back in his chair, "I want that one. Plus, the guys who sing it normally suck, so I'll sound so much better in comparison. Plus I already know how to play it, which will save us time _and_ effort."

Hiromi sighs and slams her head against the table, "You just don't get it at _all_! Why don't you sing something better, more _impressive_? Anyone can sing that at karaoke! Anyone! Rei will probably sing something much better and more impressive."

Takao drums his fingers against the table and thinks carefully, "Well, if not that, then what? I know Dickinson liked it when I sang Creed for him, so why not another Creed song? Something with more jazz."

The Chief decides to perk up, "Why not My Sacrifice? To sacrifice would be the end of something, wouldn't it? And that one is right in the title too! Plus I know you like that song. It's got 134 listens on your ipod." Hiromi looks interested, "You know… that might not be a bad idea! A song like that can appeal to an older and younger audience, which will get you more votes. Right?"

Takao purses his lips, "… I _do_ like that song. And it's got a nice guitar in there that I can play too." Hiromi sits up and rubs her forehead where it came in contact with the table, "I think you should do that one, Takao. You're good at the straight vocal sound when you try. Plus, it's much more impressive than a crappy wanna-be band."

"I like the All American Rejects," Max pipes up, but Hiromi ignores him. Instead she looks at the Chief, "Do you think you can get the sheet music for Takao? He'll need to know the entire song perfectly as soon as possible." The nerd nods and smiles, "Not a problem, Hiromi! Just leave it to me." She smiles at him and Takao watches them with a little smirk on his face.

"What do you think I should sing, Hiromi?" Max asks in hopes of getting her while she's in a good mood. She turns and lifts a brow, "Well, let's think for a second!"

The days until the actual contest are murder. They don't even get a break on the day before like the Chief said they would, but that's probably because Hiromi is so nervous about it. Takao doesn't really understand why she's so hung up over it, but Max knows she's working just as hard as they are. If not even harder! She's making sure they have everything they need to practice, that they get the right amount of sleep, that they eat their meals, and even tiny things like remembering to pack this or do that.

It's time to go!

They head out pretty early in the morning, because Takao had forgotten to ask Mr. Dickinson what _time_ they should show up. He had been too busy glaring at Kai like there was no tomorrow.

Takao is totally decked out for this. And for once, his outfit is not something of his own creation. Hiromi was the one who threw this little number together. She didn't trust him with picking out something good enough, and he figured he'd let her, because girls knew more about fashion than boys.

She has him wearing tight black jeans tucked inside a pair of blue high-top converse. Around his waist, she forced him to adopt a belt of his choice, so he went with the one with the silver studs. The shirt he's wearing he borrowed from Max, a shirt that had turned out to be too long for the blond. But it fit Takao well enough. It was dark blue, and amazingly enough, it matched the converse fairly well.

It felt really nice on, too. Takao couldn't help but to rub his cheek against it every so often when no one was looking. The design was on the back was of a silver cross of some kind. One that zigged and zagged everywhere.

In short, Takao looked cool and _felt_ cool. Even Dragoon seemed to shine as he slipped the beauty into his case.

Max was decked out too. Hiromi had fun with his outfit, using his cuteness to her advantage. Even though he was sixteen, he still had that aura of cute, while Takao had more of an aura of cool (or so he liked to think. It was more of an aura of idiot). Max wore green pants tucked into orange shoes, and an orange shirt and belt. He could stop traffic in the middle of the night.

"I wish I could bring my own drumset," Max sighs wistfully, "I'd feel so much more comfortable." "Don't worry about it!" Hiromi says as she smacks him on the back, "You'll be able to play well on anything! They only give you the best instruments for contests like these."

He nods his head and doesn't say anything else on the matter, but Takao knows his friend too well. He's worried about the fact that he won't have his own set to play on. And Takao can't blame him. If he had to play on any other guitar for this he wouldn't be feeing too secure either. But Takao has faith in Max.

They arrive there on what seems to be on time, because Dickinson is outside waiting for them with Rei at his side. Max gives Rei a friendly smile and wave, but the Chinese boy doesn't return the sentiments. Max doesn't seem to be phased by this but Takao would be raging if he had been jilted in such a manner. He figures that Max is just way more relaxed than him when it comes to that kind of thing.

"Welcome everyone!" Dickinson says with a jolly smile, "Looks like we're just waiting on the young Kai now." The old man looks both ways, "He should be here any minute! That boy always likes to make a flashy entrance, you know."

Takao glances at Rei and wonders what kind of instrument he uses, he hasn't seen the older boy play or sing at all. Maybe he was just a plain singer? If that was the case, Takao would own him.

The guitarist smirks a little.

Rei glances as his competition and notices the feral smile. It's one he's used to seeing from guys who think they're good, but it's got a little more edge to it than most. He resists the urge to curl his own lips into something dangerous and looks away, not wanting the guitarist to notice his gaze.

Takao doesn't notice, but the Chief sure does.

He's studying Rei himself because he's trying to figure out what he might play. And from the calluses on his hands the Chief thinks he just may have an inkling as to what.

Kai arrives shortly after, wearing his usual outfit of black black and more black. That really wasn't his color, Takao thinks to himself. He'd look better in purple. Or blue.

… Why he is speculating Kai's color choices, he has no idea. He doesn't normally do things like this.

He shifts in his standing spot and almost spits out the following words, "Took you long enough." Max hides a smile as best he can and the Chief looks nervous again. The Chief doesn't like it when Takao does things to provoke the keyboardist, but Takao can care less right now.

Kai looks at Takao with what seems to be slight amusement, from Max's perspective. But if you ask the Chief he'll tell you that Kai looked at Takao with pure anger. The Chief seems to think that Kai is perpetually angry, but can you blame him? It's not like they've spoken a word to each other.

"So _sorry_ to keep you waiting," he responds smoothly, "But I wanted to make sure I wouldn't have to wait here with you longer than I had to." He has this ability to apologize without sounding sorry at all, and it grates on Takao's very tiny nerves.

Takao flushes a little bit at this and shoves his hands into his jean pockets. Rather, he tries to shove his hands into his jean pockets. He can't really get them in too far because they're so tight. He silently curses Hiromi and her tight pant fetish as he yanks his hands out again, "What's that supposed to mean!?"

And he goes onto silently cursing himself. That had sounded really lame.

Kai stares at Takao's pants for a moment and then looks away, "Exactly what it _sounds_ like." Rei smirks a little bit and Dickinson raises his hands up, "Now boys, can't we all just get along? We're all friends here! This is for fun, don't forget that!"

Max nods, "You're right Mr. D! This is for fun! So let's lighten up, okay guys?"

It seems Max is the only one who feels this way. Rei turns his nose up and looks away from the other boys. Kai crosses his arms and looks at Mr. Dickinson and Takao glares holes into Kai's skin. Max sighs and rubs the back of his neck; this is taking more out of him than he thought it would. And it has barely just begun!

They file into the waiting room silently. Mr. Dickinson had tried to start up some conversation but that effort had failed miserably, with Max the only one trying to talk.

Tension is thick in the air as Takao tunes Dragoon up. The Chief decides to take this moment to tell Takao what he knows. "Hey, Takao," he whispers, "I think I know what Rei uses."

Takao looks up at the Chief from beneath his bangs, "Is it Olay? Pantene? I can't figure it out!"

The Chief looks startled for a moment, "Olay..? No, not his _shampoo!_" Takao frowns, "But his hair is so shiny, it's gotta be something high-end and fancy. A guy like that wouldn't use something from the sale-bin like I do." "Takao! I meant his _instrument_. From the calluses on his hands it has to be some kind of string instrument."

Takao seems to be thinking because he doesn't say anything right away but before the Chief can continue, he stands up. "Takao…?" the nerd asks and Takao just holds up his hand. "Don't worry about it, Chief. It doesn't matter what he plays. I'm going to beat him either way!"

With that, he heads out into the arena where Rei is already set up and ready to go.

In his hands is one of the nicest bases Takao has ever seen. So the boy plays the base, hm? Not all that surprising.

Rei plays first, and he plays some kind of Chinese song that Takao is actually not familiar with. He's very, very good. His voice is smooth and deep, without hitch or crack. Takao can't help but to be amazed with the older boy.

No wonder he was so cocky and arrogant. He was _good_. He had the sound to back up his attitude. But so did Takao.

Rei finishes the song with ease and grace and the audience is silent for a moment, silent in pure _bliss_. But soon enough the cheers rocket up and people are chanting Rei's name. No doubt about it, the boy is a favorite.

But Takao was expecting this.

He launches into his own song with much more heart than Rei, because he _wants_ this. He sings his heart out, his fingers throb from the intense drumming of strings; the music is his happy place again. He doesn't hear the audience as he plays his music; he doesn't hear anything but Dragoon and his tune.

But soon enough his song ends. It was a little bit shorter than Rei's song was, but it had what seems to be a greater impact. He looks up once he finishes and his gaze first goes over to Rei, natural reaction and all. Surprisingly, Rei's face is one of complete shock. He looks like he's never heard anything like what Takao has just done before.

But if Takao had been in the audience for his own performance, he'd have a similar look on his face. The audience is silent for a good few seconds before bursting into applause and cheer. Rei snaps out of his shock soon after, and for the first time since Takao has met him, Rei smiles at the guitarist.

_This_ takes Takao by surprise, but he manages to smile back at the Chinese boy.

They meet in the center of the stage as the audience gets ready to vote. For once, Rei addresses him without the usual condescending tone, "I'm impressed, Takao. I came here thinking I wouldn't find anyone who could really _play_, and I hadn't, until I heard you play."

"You're really great too, Rei," Takao says as he holds out his hand, "You've really got an amazing sound." Rei holds out his own hand and grips Takao's, giving it a good shake. The announcer walks out onto the stage to tell the audience to start voting, but Rei holds his hand up. "I'd actually like to pull out of the contest," he says, and everyone looks at him like he's gone totally crazy.

"What..? Why, Rei?" Takao asks with wide eyes, "Why would you _do_ that?" Rei laughs, "Don't look at me like that! I don't have any want to continue, now that I've been beaten. You were better than me Takao, so you should move on without any question."

With that said Rei moves silently off the stage. The room is silent as well because everyone seems to be in total shock. This has never happened before in all of Bey-Idol history, no one has ever just_ given up_ because the other player was amazing.

But these boys were certainly not normal boys. That was for sure. The announcer pauses no longer and shouts into his microphone, "Well, it seems the winner is _Takao Kinomiya_!" The crowd goes up into cheers, and Takao feels satisfaction swell in his chest. So this is what it's like, the crowd cheering for you because they think you're amazing, all the hard work finally beginning to pay off.

But he can't just stand there and bask in the glory forever. Max and Kai need to have their match. He crosses his fingers for Max and hops into the stands where he's bombarded by the Chief and Hiromi. They squish against him and shout some things, but Takao can't really hear them because of the cheering of the crowd. It seems that Kai is a fan favorite _somehow_. Several girls have tee-shirts with _WE LOVE KAI _written on them. They're pretty crappy, written in sharpie and magic marker, but it wasn't like Max had girls like that on his side. Thought that counts, right?

"Go Max!" Takao shouts and pumps his fist, almost hitting an old man in the face. The Chief apologizes to the old man while Hiromi beats Takao over the head with a newspaper. Max laughs as he sees this from the stage, his friends might be goof-balls but they're there for him. He waves at Kai from across the stage and shouts, "Good luck, Kai!"

Kai simply looks at him, and then turns around to set up his keyboard. Max shrugs it off and sits down at the drums provided by Bey-Idol, taking his time to study them carefully. He didn't know if hitting this drum a certain way would elicit a certain sound. He didn't know if one of the drums had a duller sound, he didn't know if the drums were perfectly good.

He could only hope!

Kai sets up his keyboard with care. It's a beautiful instrument, something he's had for a long time. This was Dranzer, his _real_ Dranzer. He could play any instrument he wanted, but the Keyboard and Piano were his favorites to play. He liked the guitar well enough, but he didn't feel that connection with it like he did with the piano.

He strokes the keys with a dry cloth to get rid of any residue that might have been on them, but he always takes such good care of Dranzer, it really didn't need it. He was to go after the blond kid, the one who keeps trying to be nice and wave. He had heard the kid shout _good luck _to him but he had shrugged it off.

He didn't _need_ luck. He had talent and skill. And _years_ of practice.

What was luck in comparison to that? Nothing, that's what.

Max begins playing his drum and singing, and he knows he's good. But not as good as Takao, his singing was nowhere near as deep or awe-inducing. But he is good and he does his best, it's all he can do. It turns out that the drum is eerily similar to Draciel, the drum that he had gotten from his grandmother. She had used to be a hippie in an earth-love band, but had given that up when she had a baby.

When he's done he gets a good amount of applause, and he's happy. He wants to win, sure, but he's really _reaching_ people this way. Kai starts playing after he does.

And in short, Kai is amazing. You can tell from the way his fingers move artfully across the gleaming keys that he's been doing this for practically his whole life, and his voice is nothing shabby. No wonder his garage band had the toughest rep in the entire city, he was _talented_. Even Takao is caught up in Kai's performance in a way that he hadn't been caught up in Max's.

When he listens to Kai play, he feels like his body is on fire, in contrast to how he feels when he plays Dragoon. When Dragoon sings, Dragoon makes Takao feel like he can soar across the sky without anything holding him back. Max's performance simply lacked the _feeling_ that Kai's had.

The crowd explodes when Kai finishes, and Max bows his head in defeat. He knows he's lost this one. "I think Max was better," Hiromi sniffs, but they all know who sounded better. "Gee, I'm going to have to play against that guy?" Takao mutters, but thanks to the sheer sonic boom of the crowd no one hears him.

The crowd takes it's time to vote and the decision is that Kai will move onto the finals. Max doesn't do too shabby, though, and several girls are giggling and a few have even abandoned their Kai shirts for something more orange and green. "It must be his cuteness," Hiromi grins and Takao laughs when he sees Max's expression at the girls flinging themselves at him.

Well, the blond was certainly more approachable than Kai was, that was for sure.

"Hah, wow, Kai was really amazing," Max says when he finally gets through the swath of screaming girls, "But from this it doesn't seem like I did too badly, either!" Takao grins and slams his friend on the back, "You were great, Max. You got to the semi-finals, and you really rocked out up there. So don't worry about it! I'll beat Kai!"

The Chief nods and Hiromi gives Max a thumbs up. "After this there's no way we won't get some kind of recording contract!" Takao continues, "And who knows? Maybe you'll get your face on some mayo bottles."

Max looks like he's in pure bliss when he imagines this, "Mayo bottles, huh…?" "Mayo bottles!" The Chief squeaks, and Hiromi nods, "And we'll work on your vocals a lot more, okay? You have potential, you really do! I've just been so focused with this idiot over here that I got distracted."

"What's that supposed to mean!?" Takao laughs as he pokes Hiromi's forehead with his index finger, "You think I've got talent, and we _all_ know it." Hiromi smacks his hand away and rolls her eyes, "Yeah yeah, mister tough guy. I didn't deny that you've got talent; I said you were an idiot! And we _all_ know it."

They all laugh again and Takao shakes his head, "Augh! I've gotta get ready to play against Kai! And I don't know what I'm singing!" He hops out of the stands and hurries over to the stage were Kai and Dickinson are waiting. "Nice of you to join us," Kai says with his usual superior drawl and Takao sticks his tongue out at him, "I was talking to my _friends_." "We could see that," is Kai's bored reply.

"N-Now boys. Are you ready to hear the theme for the next – the _final_ – round?" Dickinson asks as he pushes his glasses up his nose. They had been sliding down from perspiration.

"Ready as I'll ever be," Kai and Takao respond in unison. Dickinson laughs and Kai looks put-off, but Takao just shoves his hands in his pockets and flushes. "Right, well. The theme is_ Love_! Pick something quickly boys, it's a very broad topic and you'll probably know a few you can sing well." Dickinson claps his hands and the announcer nods, "Right! We'll return in half an hour for the final contest! Take this time to get some souvenirs for loved ones or use the restrooms, ladies and gentlemen!"

Takao blinks and heads over to his spot on the stage, taking his time to think about what song he's going to sing. He doesn't really want to ask Hiromi what he should sing. This is his big moment, to sing a song he really wants to sing, something he can really blast out on.

Kai is setting himself up again, straightening up Dranzer and thinking about the song he should sing. Love, huh? What a stupid topic. But it didn't matter, it was just a song. And if he could play Dranzer it was perfectly fine with him. It didn't matter what he played, playing itself was what mattered.

Kai is to go first.

Dickinson had given them a half hour, but that was up now. They spent the time thinking about what to play, and Takao has decided upon a song that he used to love he was a kid. It wasn't the coolest song to sing, and Hiromi would probably beat him up over it later, but it's what he wanted.

Kai plays Dranzer smoothly and effectively, his keys stinging with every press. Takao finds himself falling into Kai's music again. The song he's chosen is one that mostly consists of the piano and straight vocals. It's a sad song, new, catchy. The lyrics are nothing like Takao would expect a guy like Kai to sing. Kai shouldn't be singing about love, he should be singing about how much he hates people and wants to destroy other people's instruments.

But Takao won't deny this. Kai sings those lyrics _well_. He really puts his heart into it, even though he seems like he's the kind of guy who would not care about anything at all. When he sings, he seems like a different person to Takao. Like someone Takao would really like, even.

But why he was such a jerk outside of the realm of music, Takao had no idea. The audience is captivated by Kai's playing and his voice. It's no wonder why he's the reigning champion of Bey-Idol, and if he was up against anyone but Takao, he would probably be holding onto the coveted title of champion.

But Takao isn't going to back down so easily, or be intimidated by Kai and his amazing voice and piano playing. Okay, he isn't going to be _very_ intimidated by Kai's playing.

When Kai finishes playing, the crowd cheers louder than ever. Girls chant Kai's name and people start throwing things, it's such a riot that the police officers have to calm everyone down. Kai smirks and turns to Takao, ready to make some sort of crass comment, but Takao has this retarded little grin on his face. Not anger, shock, or even jealousy, just this stupid. Little. Grin.

"Wow, Kai! You're really… really good!" Takao says as he rubs the back of his neck, "You don't seem like the type to play softer songs like that." Kai stares at the younger male and then looks away with a simple, "Whatever."

Now it's Takao's turn to play. He's glad he picked the song he did, something brighter in contrast to Kai's darker song. He strums Dragoon, who seems ready to get going and blow this crowd. "Ready, Dragoon?" Takao whispers and the guitar seems to answer him with its powerful chord.

Kai watches the guitarist out of the corner of his eye. He doesn't want to be obviously watching him, not that it would really matter, because everyone else was too. There was something about this guy that… well, it wasn't exactly nerve-grating. That was Carlos. He just rubbed Kai the wrong way. No, that was wrong. It wasn't necessarily the _wrong_ way…

He sighs and decides not to think about it. The guy is just an idiot, not worth serious speculation. But Kai decides to rethink that sentiment when Takao starts to play.

His guitar seems to sing along with him when he plays; they both hit the right notes to the song with ease. They both give off a wistful air, quite unlike Dranzer and himself. The feeling off falling and then floating is what Takao reminds him of. And he can tell from the way Takao handles himself with the guitar that he's always getting better. He didn't sound this good the last time they played together, and he had sounded _good_ back then.

He's staring at Takao now, not that the guitarist notices because he's off in his own happy little world, but the Chief notices. He notices everyone's reactions to Takao. Kai seems… impressed, from the Chief's point of view, and a little enraptured. Like he hasn't met anyone else who he can seriously play against.

Max claps his hands and watches with wide eyes. They were both _good_ and spot-on, so the choice was going to be a hard one. Er, not for him. He was definitely voting for his buddy, but the rest of the crowd wasn't as biased as he was. They were going to have a tough choice.

Takao's song ends and the spell is broken. The audience breaks out into applause and screams of _Encore! Encore! _Kai looks away from Takao, but Takao noticed his gaze before he did. Even if Kai didn't like his performance, he had gotten his attention, right?

The announcer calls for the voting to begin, and they wait in silence for a torturous five minutes. Max holds the hand-held device carefully and presses the "Kinomiya" button. Hiromi and the Chief do the same, and they cross their fingers for their friend.

"Finally! The electronic votes are in…!" The announcer shouts dramatically, flinging his arms around in elaborate ways, trying to make himself seem impressive. "And the championship title of Bey-Idol goes to…"

Silence.

"Kinomiya Takao!"

Takao's heart stops in his chest, and he just stares at the announcer like he can't believe what he's just heard. Kai simply looks away and walks off stage, but Dickinson heads him off before he can leave and ushers him back on stage, much to Kai's displeasure.

"Would Max and Rei please come on up?" Dickinson rasps into the microphone, "I repeat, would Max and Rei please come on up?" Max looks at Hiromi and the Chief curiously but says nothing; he just skips down the stairs and onto the stage. It seems that Rei was also still in the crowd because he also finds his way to the stage fairly quickly.

"Congratulations, Takao, for making it to the top!" Dickinson says, "You're a _very_ talented young man. In fact, _all_ of you are very talented. Which is why I propose you this! Together, form a band, and represent BBA in the International Battle of the Bands competition. What do you say?"

"I'm _so_ in! We'll need an awesome name, like… like! The Bladebreakers!" Takao shouts as he pumps his fist in the air, and Max flashes a peace sign, "Count me in too!" Rei looks thoughtful, and due to encouraging looks from both Max and Takao, he agrees. Kai simply looks at Dickinson, "Are you _serious_?"

"C'mon, Kai! If you play with them and represent BBA, you'll be able to play against bands from all over the globe. In international competition! Think about the challenge!"

Kai remains silent so Takao speaks up, "You're kind of a jerk, but you should play with us, Kai." Kai looks at him blankly and then back at Dickinson, "Bands all over the globe, huh?" Takao flushes, "Hey! Did you ignore me? I'm talking to you!"

Dickinson laughs, "_All_ over the globe."

Takao growls, "Hey _Kai._"

Kai sighs. "What am I getting myself into?"

When they get back to school, they're famous. Well. Kind of famous. Anyone who cares about talent competitions notices them or sends them a wave in the hallway.

Turns out that the competition that Dickinson told them about wasn't for a while, and Dickinson didn't want to yank them out of school just so he could promote them.

Rei transferred into their school so he could be with them, they had become closer friends than before. Max and Rei got along fantastically and they had most of their classes together. Rei and Takao were also close, and they often gave each other tips. Rei gave Takao hair tips while Takao gave Rei school tips. No, not tips on _learning_. Tips on who was who and what was cool. Rei seemed to care about fitting in as much as possible.

But Takao couldn't blame him. Rei _was_ a foreigner in this school.

Kai had just wandered off and didn't contact them once Bey-Idol ended, but Takao figured he'd show up eventually. He was the kind of guy that you should have to call his name into the wind, and he'd come to you.

So what happened at lunch a week after they got back from break was naturally heart-attack inducing.

They're sitting in lunch together with Takao inhaling his usual three lunches. Rei brings his lunch because he wants to save money, the Chief gives Takao his lunch, Hiromi gives Takao her lunch, Max eats his lunch, and Takao eats his own lunch. Takao also usually eats part of Andrew's lunch too but Andrew hasn't been around lately.

Hiromi and Takao are arguing about vocals, as per usual. "No, I'm not singing a song for _girls_," Takao growls as he shoves some French fries into his mouth, "Mffn! Soodis lke gy!" Hiromi brushes some chewed up French fry off of her face, "Ew, Takao. Don't talk with your mouth full. It's just gross." "Like your face?" he retorts, and she smacks him on the back which causes him to choke a little bit.

Everyone is so engrossed in their own conversations that no one notices Kai sit down at the table right next to Takao. He doesn't say anything, he just sits there. No food, no drink, no books. Nothing.

So imagine Takao's surprise as he swings around to get up and get another drink. And he slams right into Kai's very muscular body.

Everyone gawks.

Max is the first one to recover, "Kai!? Since when do _you_ go to school here!?" Rei rubs the back of his neck awkwardly, "The lady in the principal's office didn't say anything about any other new students…" The Chief inches away from Kai as unnoticeably as he can while Hiromi rolls her eyes.

"I've always gone to school here," Kai says, "I just don't usually bother to show up." Takao is the only one still gawking. He shoves his finger in Kai's face and turns to the rest of the table, "Guys, _guys._ It's _Kai._"

"…" Hiromi sighs, "… Yes, Takao, we can see that it's Kai." Kai shoves Takao's pointing finger out of his face, "I'll leave."

"Wait, no!" Takao says as he flings himself at the keyboardist, "Stay! We're just surprised is all!" Kai grunts as the guitarist slams against him and clings, and he does his best to remove the pest. But Takao won't budge.

Rei and Max laugh, and it seems that the Chief has calmed down a little bit. Kai seems so much more human when he has a Takao leeching off of his side like that.

So the bladebreakers are all together, in one place, at one time. And from here on it, they're going to be tight. Kai doesn't get a say in it.


	7. Head to the dance floor

Kai has gotten into some habits ever since he's joined the Bladebreakers. He wakes up at 5:30 (every morning) and sits in bed for half an hour. You might say that he has low blood pressure, because it takes him a little while to wake up in the morning. Once 6 o'clock comes around he gets out of bed and yanks the covers up.

He doesn't bother to make it nice. As long as the bedding isn't on the floor he doesn't care. Then he heads into the kitchen and packs his lunch of white bread. That's it. Just three pieces of white bread in a brown bag. He doesn't like to eat when people are watching him, so he usually doesn't eat it anyway. Maybe a piece while he's sitting on the roof while he should be in gym.

He glances at his books - every morning - and wonders if he should take them with him. Then he decides against it. Those will be annoying to remember and if he looses them he'll have to buy new ones. So just leave them home and you'll never lose them. You'll never use them either but that's a minor detail.

Now he gets dressed. He should probably dress before he leaves the bedroom in the first place but he always forgets to, so he goes back and does that. His clothes are always neatly folded in the same spot on his dresser and he throws them on quickly as he can. About now it is 6:30. He wastes ten minutes staring at himself in the mirror spacing off because he's still tired, so he's totally ready to go at 6:40.

He sits down in a chair in his kitchen and waits. About at 7:00 there's a frantic pounding on his door, just like there is every morning. He gets up and opens his door to come face to face with a panting, gasping, disheveled Takao.

"What, have you learned my schedule or something?" Kai drawls as he always does, "Always catching me on my way out." Takao laughs and rubs the back of his neck, "I just know how to time it right! You're always just about ready to leave at 7!"

Kai rolls his eyes and walks past Takao, and the guitarist follows Kai like a lost puppy follows anyone with good smelling food. "Aw, c'mon Kai. We live close to each other, so it's only natural that we should walk to school together!" "Walk to school together? More like a baby-sitter bringing a kindergartener to school," Kai responds promptly and Takao pouts and moans. "You're only proving my point, Kinomiya."

"Why won't you call me by my first name?" Takao complains, "Everyone else does! It's more personal!" "I don't want to be more personal with you," Kai says "It's already more than enough right now."

Takao tries again, "I actually brought my lunch with me today! My Grandpa made it for me. Did you bring lunch?" Kai shrugs and keeps walking. It's like this for the entire time.

They have a few classes together, even gym, but Takao never asks why Kai wasn't in gym that day. It's the same old thing. Otherwise he doesn't see Takao all that much.

Kai only goes to school on a regular basis for one reason. Takao had threatened him with stalking during school hours if he didn't go.

The guitarist's logic was this: "If you go to school every day, we only see each other in the morning, lunch, and in a few classes! But if you keep skipping I'll skip too and stalk you, and then you'll see me _all day._ So you should just come to school."

While Kai didn't really believe that Takao could hold through on such a promise, it wasn't worth the risk. So he goes and deals with it, and just does what he wants while there.

That is, until, they rope him into auditioning for the school musical. That's when his nice little schedule takes a turn for the worst.

Hiromi is the one who brings it up during lunch. She's handing out fliers for auditions because her friend is in charge of casting.

"Come on, guys! She really needs some people to try out. No one is… well, that's not true, girls are. But there are guy parts that need to be filled! And you guys were winners on _Bey-Idol_! You can all sing, you _love_ to sing!"

Takao agrees instantly, "Anything for my adoring fans~!" he says with a sigh and a gleam in his eyes. Hiromi rolls her eyes at this but doesn't say the words she's fighting to keep quiet. As long as he agrees, she doesn't really care what he thinks about it.

Max also agrees to try out pretty quickly. "I don't mind helping out," he says, "I'm not that great of an actor but I can play a small part or something…"

Hiromi shrugs, "None of us are really all _that_ good aside from the drama club. Or so they claim. But I think they're too awkward on stage, they just _tell_ each other that they're good." Takao sips the Chief's milk and shrugs his shoulders as the Chief shakes his head, "I'm no good on stage! I would be useless. I could help with stage stuff, though."

Rei seems thoughtful, but Kai isn't even paying attention. Hiromi raps her knuckles on the table to get his attention but it doesn't seem to work. "I'll… try," Rei says with slight uncertainty, "If they really need the help, you know." Hiromi stares at Kai until he looks at her, "What?"

"Well, are you going to help out?" She asks with a slight growl, she still hasn't taken too kindly to Kai. "No," he responds.

"Aw, c'mon Kai! What're the chances they'll pick you for something? Or even something important? Besides, it's good credit!" Max says as he munches happily on a granola bar. "Yeah, besides!" Rei cuts in, "We'll be there too."

Takao shrugs his shoulders again as he downs some cookies and a large portion of the Chief's pizza slice. Hiromi finds it a little nerve-grating that he isn't backing them up on this, but Takao doesn't want Kai to get a better part than him in the musical, so he's not going to push Kai to audition.

Hiromi huffs and sits down at the table, "Fine, fine. _Don't_ audition." Kai shrugs and stands, deciding that this would be a good time to make his exit.

"Gee," Hiromi taps her fingers on the table, "Would it kill him to have some school spirit?" "School spirit!?" the chief chokes, "We're lucky that he comes at _all_!" "He's got a point," Max agrees, "And he even sits with us at lunch. We can't be too demanding."

"So when are auditions?" Takao asks while eying Max's lunch plate. Max sends him a look that says _don't even think about it_. "Tomorrow," Hiromi responds promptly, "But all you have to do is sing a song and say some short lines. Pretty easy."

"So we don't need to practice?" Max asks and Hiromi shakes her head, "Nah, don't worry about it."

After school Takao catches up with Kai, who is headed home. "Kaiiiii! Kaaaaaaai! Kaaaaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiii!!! Kai Kai Kai Kai Kai Kai~!"

It really gets on Kai's nerves. "What?"

Takao grins. "We should walk home together! Or, uh. Until we get to your apartment. Then you'll go in and I'll walk the rest of the way home alone." "Brilliant deduction," Kai drawls as he walks, "How long did it take you to figure that out?"

"Only a few minutes," Takao pouts.

The walk is awkward, like it always is when they walk alone together. But this time it's a little more awkward because neither of them have anything at all to say. Usually Takao rattles on about his day or his classes while Kai pretends not to listen.

It's weird not to have Takao's voice rattling around in his brain, Kai thinks. He's gotten so used to it. So he does something he knows he'll totally regret.

"So you're going to try out for the musical, huh." With the way he says it you'd think he was making a statement but Takao has gotten used to his weird way of talking. It's been a while since Bey-Idol, about a month, but that's more than long enough for Takao to get used to someone.

And Kai was the kind of guy you needed to read right.

It was actually a question! Takao nods his head; glad he has something to talk about. "Oh yeah! I'm not usually into that kind of thing but it'll give me a chance to work on my singing skills! Plus I heard some of the girls in the drama club or whatever were really worried that they wouldn't have a big enough cast for what they wanted to do. Well, they have enough girls to fill all the girl roles, but a lot of girls said that they wouldn't want to play guy parts for some reason. I didn't actually catch what the musical was about…"

Boy, Kai _does_ regret it. Instantly.

Takao is still talking by the time they reached Kai's tiny apartment. Kai has never invited Takao inside for anything, and Takao doesn't expect him to. And as usual, Kai doesn't ask him if he wants to go in. He just goes inside without saying goodbye leaving Takao shafted like usual.

Takao kicks the ground and considers throwing something at Kai's apartment (there's a nice rock over there), but in the end he keeps on walking back to his own house where Grandpa is waiting for him with the Kendo stick.

Kai shows up at the auditions the next day.

He's actually there before Takao because Takao never actually asked _where_ they were holding the auditions. Everyone but him had realized that auditions would happen in the _auditorium._ He walks into the room and spots _Max_ first, actually. Kai is second.

Takao actually walks out of the auditorium and back in because he honestly cannot believe his eyes. His second reaction is that someone is cosplaying Kai and they're doing a _very_ good job of it. They've even got his perpetual angry frown and crossed arms exactly right. That must have taken practice.

"Haha, Rei! Do you see that cosplayer over there?" Takao says as he walks up behind his friend. Rei looks up and around, "Cosplayer? Where?" "Right there!" Takao laughs as he points to Kai, "That Kai cosplayer! Boy, I bet he'd be pretty mad if he saw them. Or would he think that he's looking in a _mirror_! Haha! Maybe both!"

Rei blinks and stares at Kai for a few seconds, "… Takao. I don't...think that's a cosplayer." Takao looks at his friend, "Of course it's a cosplayer! Kai pretty much _said_ he wouldn't be caught dead here." "Maybe he changed his mind," the longer-haired boy responds, "He's had a night to sleep on it."

"Noooo, no. Totally not Kai," Takao says as he leaves his friend to deal with whatever he was doing. It seems like he was going over some lines. Well, Hiromi had said they wouldn't need to do that so Takao didn't bother. The Chief is talking to a lanky girl in the corner, Takao thinks they're in the AV club together but he isn't too sure. The Chief really loves hooking things up for other people. The drama club is really lucky Hiromi has so many connections.

The guitarist makes his way over to the alleged cosplayer and raises his hand in greeting, "Hey-a! Nice costume!"

Kai raises a brow, "… Costume?"

Max looks over from where he's sitting (which is right near Kai) and nearly chokes from surprise. But that quickly changes from surprise to laughter. It seems like Takao has a very… over-active imagination. Or something along those lines.

Takao continues, "It's really convincing. You look just like him!"

Kai is just staring at Takao like he's an idiot. Which he _is_. But this was taking it to a whole new level. Or maybe he's just gone into denial.

"…" Kai sighs, "I'm not a cosplayer."

"Oh, I know you guys are real into that kind of thing, right? But calling you Kai would be just a little creepy, you know?" Takao laughs.

"It's _me_," Kai says with a slightly more aggressive tone; Takao blinks. And blinks some more. And then gapes. Max laughs and leans back in his seat, "He's right Takao. That's the real thing in front of you." Takao shakes his head and points his finger in Kai's face, "You said that you wouldn't audition! _Why are you here!?!_"

Kai smirks a little bit, "I heard that it's good _credit_."

"Since when do _you_ care about credit!? No, this isn't you! You're a figment of my imagination that shouldn't be here! The real Kai is off somewhere on a mountain training his voice in hopes of becoming more awesome than me!" Takao flails and Kai shoves the guitarist's hands out of his face. Takao has a really bad habit of shoving his hands in Kai's face.

It looks like Kai is going to say something else, but the drama club takes this moment to address the audience. Seems like Takao is in the clear. For now.

A girl with blond hair (seems like she's in charge) speaks up, "Okay! We'll be taking auditions in order of last name! Did everyone sign in? If you didn't, please do so!"

Once everyone signs in, they begin calling off names. People are given a common song and the same lines, so Hiromi had been right about not needing to prepare for it. Kai doesn't give his performance any thought at all. He speaks in a monotone and sighs when he forgets a word, _then_ just skips it totally. He doesn't even bother to try to remember or fill it in with another word.

He sings well enough, but obviously doesn't put much effort in it. But compared to all the other guys, he sounds like he's Jesus. Or some other religious idol. Well, the rest of the Bey-Idol winners haven't gone, but still. It's slightly… sad.

No wonder Hiromi had been so set on getting them to audition.

They all go and they all do pretty well. Takao puts a lot of heart into his song and says his lines a little too quickly, Max says his lines well but messes up on the song, and Rei does _everything_ perfectly. Well, he _was_ preparing in advance. But compared to everyone else they seem like they're professionals. Okay. So they kind of are now, with what representing BBA in an international competition and all.

But they haven't had any actual training yet, not from any professionals, and haven't really been promoting anything. As Dickinson likes to say, they're on the "Down-Low".

Once all the auditions are finished the girl waves them off and they leave without knowing anything. "When do the roles go up?" Rei asks, seeming slightly more into the idea of being in the musical than he did the day before, "Tomorrow?"

"Probably," Hiromi responds, "They're really behind schedule so they need to get everything sorted out right away. We've only got a few weeks to throw this together, and an even smaller budget than we do time." Max stretches his arms over his head, "It was fun! I wish I actually knew the song in advance though. They said it was really popular but I'd only heard it a few times."

Takao gives Max a thumbs up, "You still _sounded_ good, though, even if you forgot the words." Kai says nothing. The Chief rubs his arm, "Yeah! And I think that I can help them with whatever they need technically. So they can count on me, Hiromi!" "Thanks!" she responds cheerfully, "I know they'll appreciate it."

"What _is_ the musical of, anyway?" Rei asks, "They didn't exactly say." Hiromi shrugs, "I have no idea. They're keeping it under wraps because they want the actors and actresses to be surprised or something. But knowing them it'll probably be something like West Side Story."

Takao grins, "I should get the lead, yeah? With my amazing singing voice and all." Max laughs, "But you'd forget all the lines!"

"Wanna bet, Maxie?" Takao grins and Max looks interested, "Oh yeah. You bet I do. I've been needing some extra money." "I bet I can learn _all_ the lines in the stupid musical!" Takao boasts. Max does not look convinced, "Takao. You couldn't even remember two lines for our Spanish dialogue!"

"That's in a different _language_, Maxie. Yo no hobbles su Spanisheoso!" Takao flips his hand and Max laughs, "Fine! 20 bucks says you _can't_ learn every line." "Done!" Takao responds, "Prepare to be short 20 bucks!"

They head home with high expectations, and all Takao's expectations come crashing down around him come lunch the next day.

"Guy with _bucket_!? How the _heck_ did I get the part of _Guy with Bucket_!?" the guitarist asks angrily as he slams his hand onto the lunch table, "Better question, how the _hell_ did Kai get the lead as _Prince Charming_!? Kai and Prince Charming would only go in the same sentence if the sentence was _Kai beat up Prince Charming and stole his horse_!"

Rei shrugs, "Well… I got the part as King. Uh, I guess that's pretty good?" Max leans down in his seat a little bit, "Well… I got the part of the _horse_ Kai should be stealing." Hiromi growls, "Well _I _got the part of the Evil Queen! That makes _no_ sense at ALL."

Everyone stares at her and then looks away.

"Well, we're supposed to pick up our scripts in the drama room, huh?" Rei says and Max nods, "Not that I'll need a script. I don't think a horse has any lines." "What lines could I possibly have, other than _Hey I am a man with a bucket! Isn't that pathetic?_" Takao rages. Kai just looks out the window.

Come time to practice, some things prove to be a problem. The girl chosen to be the Princess, the lead opposite to Kai's Prince Charming, can't seem to remember any of her lines. She's a pretty girl (probably why she got the part) but has the attention span of a bee. And half the confidence.

Takao and Max are working on the costume for the horse, trying to spiff it up a bit, while the rest of the cast works on the balcony scene. Turns out that the girls took a bunch of fairytales and mashed them together for a fairytale bonanza. Or something like that.

Though last time Takao checked Romeo and Juliet wasn't a fairytale. Wasn't that where the balcony thing was from? The Chief had said something about one with a girl with long hair that was knotty enough to climb, but Takao never read a story like that.

"Dear Princess," Kai says with absolutely no emotion, "I love you. Come to the balcony." The girls in the crowd giggle and watch the keyboardist with rapt fascination. A few, "He's soooooo handsome" and "So mysterious!!" are floating about. He sighs.

Kai wasn't even going to hold to the part, but several teachers told him that they would pass him for the term if he went through with it. While he didn't care about class, and was smart enough to pass those classes if he tried, that required effort. Something he didn't put in.

But why the teachers cared if he participated in something like this was beyond him.

The girl walks out from the hastily built balcony and pushes her long hair to the side. She thinks for a moment, sighs, and then whispers something. Everyone looks up at her except for Kai, who is staring directly out the window. It's clear that he doesn't want to be there.

"What was that? We can't _hear you_!" the director sighs as she scribbles something down on her paper, "You need to be _louder_!"

Max looks at Takao, "Do you know what her line was?" Takao grins, "Sure I do! I _did_ say I'd memorize _all_ the lines. You owe me 20 bucks, by the way." Max looks surprised, "You memorized them in only a week?"

"Sure did!" is the response, "It wasn't so hard. All I needed to do was keep rereading the pages until I remembered everything. Kind of like what I do with sheet music, only a hundred times harder and more boring." "So what was it?" Max asks. Takao stands and brushes himself off, "Get ready for this."

Kai sighs and resists the urge to just leave. They've been doing this for the past week, every day after school, and it hasn't changed at all. He honestly doesn't care if the whole thing flops over and dies. Hiromi practices her lines in front of a mirror in the back, trying to make her face go into the nastiest sneer she's ever managed. She's pleased with her results.

The girl playing the princess whimpers and pulls on her hair, "I can't do this, I'm sorry! I… I quit!" She crawls down the ladder and leaves while everyone just stares at her. "Well, great, just great! Where are we going to find someone who can play the princess and get all the lines right!?" the director huffs, and one of her friends points at Takao, "Well, he's been doing her lines for the past five minutes straight."

It's true. Takao has been dramatically reproducing the lines with certain flair, and he's gotten quite a bit of attention from both other actors and staff. The director taps her lip with her index finger. Kai crosses his arms and leans against the wall, ready for a nap. Finally, the girl decides. "Kinomiya!" she calls out. The guitarist turns on his heel, ready to defend himself if need-be. "Yessssss~?"

"Do you want a bigger part in the musical?" she asks with a somewhat feral smile, but Takao doesn't notice the warning. "Huh? Oh, sure! Finally seeing the light, huh? Giving me the part of Guy With Bucket, hmph!"

"Fine! You are now the Princess!"

"…. What."

"You heard me, Kinomiya."

"…. What."

"Stop saying what."

"But…! I don't-! No, no way! That's a _girl's_ part!" Takao complains, and another girl pipes up. "But a lot of great male actors fulfill female rolls! Pleaaaase, Takao-kun?" The girls all get in on it now, whimpering _please, for us! For us!_ Takao blushes and rubs the back of his neck, "A-Awww. You girls really want to see me in a lead role that badly, huh?" Max rolls his eyes. He can't believe Takao is falling for this. Then again, if he was in Takao's position right now, he wouldn't have much will power either.

It doesn't take long to convince Takao to play the part.

But when he's up on that balcony looking down at _Kai_ of all people, he regrets it. Immensely. The thought of having to play opposite Kai hadn't crossed his mind until he had promised he'd do it. He doesn't want to play opposite Kai in _anything_. Ever. But he's determined to be the best Princess possible, even if he regrets it. Even if he's forced to play opposite the most emotionless love-interest ever.

"Dear Princess," Kai says again, but this time his voice is filled with what seems to be pure _malice_, "Come. To the window. _I love you_." The girls gasp and sigh in the audience, "Such emotion! Pure emotion! It's _chemistry!_"

Chemistry my ass, Takao thinks. Maybe the kind of chemistry that'll explode in your face and leave you with scars for the rest of your life. He steps out onto the balcony, "Prince..! We can't be seen! We're not supposed to be together!" He moves his hands swiftly and reaches out to hold onto the railing of the balcony, which wobbles a bit. He lets go. They'll need to fix that.

Kai has a dangerous look on his face, "Then let's run away together." Is it just Takao's imagination, or is Kai saying that with clenched teeth? This wasn't so bad, if it was freaking Kai out. The guitarist smirks, "But what would my father do without me?"

"Don't I mean more to you than your father?" More malice.

"You know you fill my heart with nothing but love!" More gloating.

They change scenes, and Kai actually approaches the director. They seem to be talking about something serious. Finally, Kai sighs and walks away. The girl watches him with a little giggle, and Hiromi goes over to her to talk about something. Hiromi laughs too, and then she approaches Takao to help him get ready for the scene.

"What was that about?" he asks, "Seemed serious." Hiromi resists the urge to smile, "Oh, Kai just had a different idea as to how this scene should go." "What do you mean?" Takao asks, wide eyes and all. "He just suggested that we change _Prince Charming kisses the Princess_ to _Prince Charming kills the Princess_."

Takao blinks and then shoots a glare at Kai, who completely ignores him. The director claps her hands and orders them into position, "Come on! This is the Deep Sleep scene, where the Prince needs to awaken the Princess with a kiss."

Takao rolls his eyes and leans back into the wooden casket that the stage-crew threw together. They promised to make it nicer for opening night, but Takao has his doubts. But it's just the right size for his slight figure so he isn't complaining.

Kai goes about his lines in his usual monotone way, without putting any effort or feeling into them. But that doesn't seem to matter. Which annoys Takao endlessly. When it comes time to kiss, Kai halts, and the director asks him, "What's wrong?"

"…" Kai sighs, and Takao wonders vaguely if kissing another guy freaks him out. It doesn't really matter either way to Takao. … What did that say about himself, exactly?

"It's just _acting_," the director seemed to have this speech ready, "It doesn't mean anything, boy or girl! You're just following the script, that's all!" "It's not that," Kai says, "It's just. He's so much more tolerable this way."

Everyone laughs and Takao sits up, "Ha ha _ha_. You're hilarious, Kai, really." Kai just gives him an amused look as the director yells, "You're supposed to be SLEEPING, Kinomiya!" Takao thumps back into the casket and glares up at Kai trying his best to seem put-off and annoyed.

Max runs around in his horse costume as Kai leans down and awkwardly hesitates above Takao's mouth. The director says nothing about this, though, and he leans back up again without making any contact. "Gee, way to miss my mouth entirely, Kai," Takao says with an eyeroll, "Sure you don't need some glasses?"

"Switch scenes!" the director calls, "We'll keep the kiss for opening night, alright?"

The rest of rehearsals go this way for the next couple of weeks. Kai actually skips quite a few days and sometimes he doesn't even show up to school at all. Takao always waits outside his door in the morning for fifteen minutes before sighing and heading off to school. He'd probably stay longer but it's getting really cold outside, and he doesn't want to end up with frost-bite.

Takao really puts his heart into the musical. He attends every meeting and listens to what the girls tell him about how to properly wear a dress. But no matter what they do, they can't convince him to not wear a pair of jeans underneath the dress. He just isn't going to having bare legs under that swishy thing!

But come opening night, everything that can possibly go wrong does. Aside from Kai not showing up. He does, admittedly late, but he does. The Chief can't find his headphones, Hiromi loses her shoes somehow, Max almost breaks his back supporting Kai's weight, and Rei can't find the King's crown. Several supporting actors and actresses have caught colds so they're sneezing everywhere and the director has a fever. She managed to pull herself out of bed for this, though. No way was she going to miss it.

They launch into it anyway, even though they all know they're probably not ready for this. Takao runs around trying to keep everything together. Catching props before they can fall while they're on-stage, fixing lights seconds before he's supposed to be on-stage, whispering kids their lines if they stumble, and giving the go-ahead to open the curtains. He's starting to call him the stage-angel.

But Kai really saves _him_ while they're on-stage together.

In once scene, Takao's dress actually catches snag on something and begins to rip so Kai pulls him close to hide it. This isn't in the script, so everyone is caught off guard, but it works somehow. Takao looks up angrily and Kai simply says, "It's ripping." Not loud enough for anyone else to hear, mind you. Rei is saying his part now. Something about the kingdom.

Takao looks down and gasps, the side of his jeans are completely visible from the side of the skirt that isn't facing the audience. Kai says his lines as Takao fumbles awkwardly trying to clip the skirt back into place.

There are a few more moments like this. Moments that Takao will always over-look in the future because of what happens later that night.

By the time the night is almost over _everyone_ is tired and just about ready to pass out on stage. Everyone except _Hiromi_ it seems. She really gets off on being an Evil Queen bent on world domination. "Final scene!" the director sniffs, "Go get 'em, guys. We managed this long, right?"

Takao hops into the casket and fixes himself among the fake flowers and brightly colored blankets. The crew _had_ ended up slapping something together last-minute, but it wasn't so bad. The stage-hands push out the casket and Takao closes his eyes. Kai walks out on stage and recites his lines as he always does during rehearsal. He walks over to the casket and says some more stuff, but Takao isn't really listening.

Max thumps around onstage as he's supposed to, and Kai bends down for the kiss. Takao expects something quick, cold, and practically non-existent. But that's not the case.

No, it's not some romantic kiss that expresses Kai's deep hidden feelings, either. Because that wouldn't have been painful. No, what Kai does is _painful._ He uses his teeth to bite the soft part of Takao's lip, right in the corner of the lower lip, and he bites it _hard._ Hard enough to bleed.

Actually, Takao _is_ bleeding. It's not something anyone off-stage can see as it's just a line down the side of his mouth. And oh God, it _throbs_. Takao is too proud to shout out and punch Kai in the face, but he does let out a little whimper. One that only Kai can probably hear if he happens to be listening very closely.

The guitarist opens his eyes and sits up, just like he's supposed to, and wipes the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand as un-obviously as he can. The blood smudges across his chin and on the back of his hand, and he looks up at Kai. Kai doesn't have any particular expression on his face, "Good morning, Princess."

They finish the musical with a sense of iciness. But no one in the audience or even the cast seems to notice the change in feeling. The curtains close and Takao heads to the bathroom, despite his friends calling him to come get some refreshments and food to celebrate. Apparently they had done an amazing job, and everyone in the audience had been extremely impressed with the musical. That might be because every other year before this one had given up come opening night.

Takao closes the bathroom door behind him and locks the door before peering in the mirror. The side of his bottom lip is covered with dry blood, so he uses a piece of toilet paper to wipe it away.

"Yep. _Definitely_ going to leave a mark."


End file.
